Painted Dreams
by Nicola19
Summary: Aya doesn't know that she's should be afraid of the boy she asked for help when lost. She doesn't know that he is a monster that would sooner kill her than help her find the way back home. Gaara surprises himself and ever1 else when he doesn't kill her.
1. The Painter and the Monster

Alright. I decided I'd try this story next. It's been a while since I got to play with Gaara and I like his character better than the others on Naruto (weird i know). Anyway, as usual I've made up my own character (can never bring myself to pair him with another Naruto character. no idea why). Her name is Aya (full name is Ayame but everyone calls her Aya for short.). I think I'll like this character. She's amusing. Anyway, Gaara might be a little out of character during the story but I can't do things any other way. If he isn't ooc he wouldn't talk to Aya then there would be no story...see my problem with leaving him in character. Please forgive the lapses. If it makes you feel better he knows he's ooc and doesn't like it one bit. I better let you get to reading shouldn't I?

Disclaimer: I do own the things I made up (namely the Hayashi clan), but if I didn't make it up I don't own it. Just to be clear...I don't own Naruto, any of the Naruto characters, or the Naruto places.

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Ch. 1: The Painter and the Monster  
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"_You can't create a monster then whine when it stomps on a few buildings." -- saying from some person (don't know who)  
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Monsters.

Some say they are in everyone. Some think that if you don't look like a normal person than you're not a man, but a monster that prays on man. Others know that monsters come in all shapes and sizes. The scariest monster of all is the one that you don't realize is a monster until it's already devoured you. Then, after it's done with you, it will swear that it was the right thing to do, because the real monsters don't believe their monsters at all.

Monster.

The people of Suna claim they know who the monster is. He's the one that scares them the most. The one that has no feelings. What worries them is that they created him. Now he's fully grown and full of rage. They know that one day he'll kill them all for the suffering they put him through. He's a monster after all. Even he thinks so.

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She was lost. It happened once sometimes twice a day. She would decide to take a walk and then lose her way. What else could she expect? She had only lived in Suna for one week. Maybe she was suppose to know her way around by now but she didn't. To make matters worse, no one had time to help her. Everyone she asked was either too busy or didn't care enough to take the time to help her. She saw a boy walking down the street in front of her. Maybe he would help her. He didn't turn when she called out to him. She wondered if he was deaf or something. She had been rather loud when she called out. Instead of calling again she rushed forward. No way was she passing up this chance to get help.

When caught up to him, she tapped his shoulder and doubled over to catch her breath. She didn't see the the surprised look on his face or his eyes narrow in suspicion. Instead, when she looked up again, she saw an expressionless face. They boy was only about a year older than she was. He had blood red hair and eyes the color of sea foam. She found the black rings around his eyes interesting. But what caught her attention was the look in those eyes. There seemed to be a hopeless anger in them that begged to be released. Her fingers itched with the desire to start sketching his face and get that expression on canvas.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, but I need help. Can you tell me which way to the Hayashi compound is?"

He nearly turned and walked away but something stopped him. Perhaps it was the lack of fear in her eyes. Or maybe it was that she was willing to ask him for help. Then again, he could have just had a moment of insanity. Whatever the reason, he didn't leave. Instead he nodded and motioned for her to follow him. The girl smiled and followed him. It was odd to have someone walking behind him without any hint of fear. He examined her carefully. She was small, almost fragile looking. Her dark hair was thick and fell down to her waist in waves. Bangs fell to just above her blue-green eyes. She had an air of excited energy about her. It was almost as if she hid nothing from anyone. Her face showed the slightest emotion or thought making her easy to read. He hadn't intended on speaking to her but curiosity got the better of him.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Ayame Hayashi. Everyone calls me Aya. And you are...?"

"Sabaku no Gaara."

She tapped her lips with a finger as she tried to remember why that name sounded so familiar. Somehow it seemed important. She hoped it wasn't. That would be bad. She looked at him and the urge to paint came over her again. There seemed to be so much feeling in those eyes. Telling her she couldn't paint him was like telling a starving man he couldn't have any food. Aya didn't ask though. She knew that many people didn't like to be painted. He looked like he would be one of those people.

He suddenly stopped walking. She looked around and realized that they were standing in front of her clan's compound. Aya turned back to him, "Thank you. I always seem to be getting lost."

He tilted his head in question.

"I've only live here for a week. My father and my grandfather have been at odds with each other for years. Because of that me and my mother lived in a village to the north of Suna," she explained. "My father and grandfather have worked things out though so my father decided to move me and mom in with his clan."

Gaara nodded and turned to leave. For some reason, she didn't want him to go. As usual she reacted without thinking. "Gaara?"

He turned.

She stood there floundering for something to say before and idea struck her. "Have you eaten?"

Gaara shook his head.

"You don't speak much do you?"

"No."

"Oh, somehow that doesn't surprise me." She motioned towards the compound, "Would you like to join us for dinner? It's almost time."

Gaara didn't think her clan would appreciate that so he shook his head. He was definitely not in the mood to put up with other people. Then again, he was never in the mood to put up with them. Either way, her clan wouldn't welcome him. She may not realize who he was but her clan would. They would rather let him starve than have him at their table.

"I want to thank you somehow." She looked disappointed for a moment and then her eyes lit up again. "I know. Let me get you lunch tomorrow then. That way you won't have to come to the compound."

He almost refused but she seemed so sincere about thanking him. He found himself nodding in acceptance. Aya smiled and said she'd meet him in the market around noon. With a wave, she bounced into her home. The Hayashi compound was beautiful. Trees and flowers were placed strategically to catch the eye and fill the clan's world with color. Aya had been told that her grandmother had loved gardening and that Lord Hayate kept the gardens after her death to remember her by. Aya spent many ours wondering about the compound with her sketch pad. Her biggest problem was deciding what to sketch first.

Inside the compound, her mother rushed up to greet her. Aya's mother was a beautiful and serene woman. She had long, glossy brown hair and chocolate colored eyes. Like her daughter, she was small with a body that other women would love to have. Unlike Aya, she rarely acted without thought and always kept herself under control. Aya believed that her mother was one of the best people in the world and personally would have loved to be like her. Unfortunately, Aya lacked any self-control when it came to her emotions. Her mother often said it was because of her artistic side.

"I was worried. You were gone for so long." Ruka Hayashi stepped back and gave her daughter a stern look. "You got lost again, didn't you?"

Aya looked sheepishly at her mother, "Yes."

"Oh, Aya. You need to get your head out of the clouds. What did you see this time?"

"The sunset."

Ruka shook her head at her daughter. Aya loved to paint. When she saw something beautiful she would often loose all of her concentration and focus on the object that caught her attention. For Aya the world was filled with beauty and colors. It didn't help that Aya often reacted with emotion rather than thought. Ruka turned when she heard footsteps behind her.

Kaito, Aya's father, walked up to them. He was a big man with broad shoulders and well built muscles. He had dark hair and deep blue eyes. Kaito was much like his daughter in personality, although his shinobi training made him more controlled that she was. Where Aya couldn't hid her emotions even if she wanted to, Kaito was perfectly capable of it. He usually chose not to unless on a mission.

"So, how did you get lost this time?" he asked her with a grin.

"It was the sunset," Ruka replied with a helpless laugh. "There's no hope for it. She's never going to pay attention to what she's doing. It doesn't help that she had no sense of direction."

Kaito chuckled, "Would you have her any other way?"

"No." Ruka hugged her daughter close, "She'll always be my precious Aya."

Aya smiled, "And you say I'm emotional, Mom." She suddenly remembered something and looked at her father. "Hey, Dad. Do you know a boy named Sabaku no Gaara?"

Her mother's hold on her tightened and fear flashed in her father's eyes. He was standing next to her in a second, "Why do you ask? Did he hurt you?"

"No. I just ran into him while I was lost and asked him for help. His name sounded familiar, that's all." Aya was confused. Why did the boy's name scare her father? Kaito was a strong shinobi and had been through many dangerous missions. How did one boy scare him this much?

"You talked to him, Aya. Dear god, do you have a death wish?" her father demanded.

"I would apologize but I don't know what I did wrong," she informed him.

Kaito took a deep breath to calm himself. It was okay. Gaara didn't hurt his daughter and obviously hadn't done anything to frighten her. Aya's father looked at his daughter's confused face. "Sorry. Gaara is a monster, Aya. No one is safe around him."

She frowned, "I know he's not friendly but I wouldn't go so far as to call him a monster."

"Trust me. He is. The boy has killed many shinobi since he was born, including his own uncle."

Now Aya was definitely confused but she didn't push the issue. She didn't want her father to tell her never to speak to Gaara again. The boy didn't seem scary to her. Then again, he might have been in a good mood. Only one way to find out. She would just make sure to ask him about all this tomorrow when she met him for lunch. Aya greeted the rest of her clan and went about the rest of her day without mentioning Gaara again.

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Gaara didn't know why he was there. The day before he had agreed to eat lunch with the girl but he never intended to actually show up. He was probably wasting his time now. No doubt she asked her clan about him and someone warned her about him. He was a weapon after all. Only a monster trained to kill. Why would anyone want to see him more than once? His only reason for living was to kill others. That's what everyone said and, after a while, he learned to agree with them. Killing seemed to be the only way he could prove that he was alive.

He turned to leave, annoyed with himself that he had come at all. Someone called but he ignored it. Chances were they weren't calling him. Then someone grabbed his sleeve. He turned to snarl at whoever it was only to find himself staring in shock.

Aya was panting, "You know. This is the second time I've had to chase after you. It really is becoming a bad habit."

Gaara just shrugged. He was waiting for her to do or say something, though he couldn't say what it was.

She smiled at him, "I'm glad you're still here. Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the way so I'm a little late."

"Do you get lost frequently?" he asked without really caring.

"Yes. It happens so often that my mother always expects me to come home late."

Gaara shook his head at her. No wonder she wasn't a shinobi. The girl wouldn't last for a day. She motioned for him to follow her and walked towards a restaurant. He followed. How had this happened again? He was no longer sure. It wasn't like him to help people and it certainly wasn't like him to share a meal with anyone. Yet here he was. When he left the house this morning, he was surprised that he had remembered the agreement. At first he had dismissed it. Why bother showing up? Then Baki had let them take a break for lunch and he found himself here. He still couldn't believe he had actually showed up.

Aya sat down across from him and tilted her head at him. She noticed the odd looks the other villagers gave her, but ignored them. She had never been one to care what other people were thinking anyway. Right now, her attention was on the boy across from her. "I mentioned you to my father last night. He seems to be afraid of you."

Gaara didn't say anything. There was nothing to say about it. Everyone knew he was a monster. Well, everyone but this odd girl.

"Why?"

He looked at her.

"Why is he afraid of you?" she clarified. "You don't seem that scary to me."

He opened his mouth the shrugged. How did he explain it? How did you tell someone it was because they made him into a monster? That this village put the spirit of Shukaku inside him and that made him a monster from the day he was born. Why should he tell her? It was none of her business anyway. If she wanted to know she could ask someone else. He didn't talk to people after all. Why should he start now? So he said nothing.

She tilted her head, "You're not use to socializing are you?"

He just looked at her with a 'duh' expression.

Aya felt sympathy rise up in her. "The whole village feels the same way my father does, don't they?"

He looked away now.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want sympathy," he snapped.

"I know but I'm sorry anyway."

"Why? You don't know me."

"Neither do they. That doesn't stop them from fearing you."

"They know me. They created me."

She shook her head in disagreement, "That's impossible."

He raised an eyebrow.

"They can't create you, Gaara. We create ourselves."

"They didn't give me a choice."

"There's always a choice."

He sat back and looked away. It was easy for her to say. She wasn't the one they were afraid of. Shukaku wasn't inside her. Why was he here again? Why was he even talking to this girl? He glanced up at her and saw that she still wasn't afraid of him. Even thought her father had warned her about him, she was still looking at him without any hint of fear or hatred. He wanted to know how she could do that. How could she hear what he was and not be afraid? The need to know was like and itch he couldn't scratch and it wouldn't go away.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" he demanded.

"Should I be?" she asked as she tilted her head.

"You're father told you what I am."

"He thinks your a monster, but my mother taught me to think for myself. My father's opinion isn't necessarily my opinion." She smiled, "How could someone who would help me be a monster? When I was lost you showed me the way home when no one else would. I see no reason to be afraid of you right now."

He just stared at her. She made it sound so simple but it wasn't. The village didn't always have a reason to fear him. Once he had just been an innocent child that wanted a friend. Then they had sent assassins after him. His uncle, the only person he truly loved, had tried to kill him. That had been the first time he had killed someone. Gaara looked at this girl with narrowed eyes. Maybe she was like his uncle. She could be pretending to care when she didn't.

Damn it. He was tired of being confused. It was time he start acting like who and what he was. Sabaku no Gaara was a monster who's only reason for existing was to kill. He didn't not help lost girls home and he didn't not agree to eat lunch with them. Gaara didn't know what had gotten into him but it didn't matter because he would get rid of it. He stood and left.

Aya watched him with some concern. She saw the look in his eyes. The barely contained hostility. That boy had issues. Oh well. She had thank him for his help. It was time to let it go. She didn't like it but what else could she do. There was no reason to see him again other than to satisfy her curiosity. Somehow she doubted he would agree to answer her questions. Sabaku no Gaara was not friendly but she still couldn't bring herself to believe he was a monster.

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That's the first chapter. I'm almost finished with the second one but I was a review before I post it. I don't like working on stories no one is interested in. As long as someone let's me know they want to read the story I'll continue it. Until next time.


	2. Sketches

Alright. Someone liked the story enough to review (thank you by the way Gaaras1Girl). And since I'm already finished with the second chapter I'm putting it up now. Hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: no...no...no...I don't want to say. You can't make me....(looks at glaring lawyers)....fine I'll say it. I don't own Naruto. Happy now. (Lawyers nod)...glad someone is.

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Ch. 2: Sketches**

Gaara walked away from the training grounds in a terrible mood. Not that being in a bad mood was abnormal for him, but it was worse today than normal. His father had given him that look. The one that said, 'Gaara, you are a worthless monster'. Gaara was aware that he was a monster. They didn't have to keep telling him. For some reason it was always worse when his father gave him that look. If anyone else did Gaara would just shrug it off. But he never could when the Kazekage did.

Because he was in a foul mood, Gaara chose not to go into the village. Instead he went up to the cliffs that overlooked the village. Normally no one ever went up there. It would seem Gaara's world was starting to be full of the abnormal, because sitting at the edge of the cliffs was the girl he had met last week. She seemed to be concentrating on the pad of paper in her lap. Curiously, Gaara walked over and looked over her shoulder. It was a sketch pad and she was drawing Suna. It was good too. Even Gaara, who rarely noticed others, was impressed.

Aya felt something brush her and let out a startled squeak while jumping. The next thing she knew she was starting to fall. She had jumped forward which had been a very bad idea considering she had been sitting on the edge of the cliff. She jerked when someone grabbed her wrist causing her stop suddenly. Whoever had her wrist pulled her up and set her back down on the cliff. Aya got a look at her savior and smiled.

"Hello, Gaara."

"You nearly fell to your death but you smile like nothing happened."

She shrugged, "What else am I suppose to do?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

"What are you doing up here anyway? Don't genin have missions or something like that?" she asked curiously.

"We were training. Now we're done."

"Oh...what an eventful day you've had."

Gaara chose to ignore the sarcasm. He wasn't even sure why he was talking to her. The girl always made him feel...odd. He wasn't quite himself whenever he looked into those blue-green eyes. He knew he shouldn't encourage her belief that he wasn't a monster. He was after all. But some part of him didn't want her to be afraid of him. She was the first person in years to look at him without any trace of fear. Part of him didn't want to lose that. Odd, he thought he had given up emotions a long time ago.

"What were you doing up here?" she asked, bringing out of his thoughts.

He shrugged. Originally he had wanted to avoid people. Ironic that he found himself socializing now. He looked at the sketch pad she had managed to hold on to when she fell. She saw his gaze.

"I was sketching the village. When I'm finished I'll paint it."

"You paint?"

She nodded and seemed to get excited, "Yes. I love to paint. It's part of the reason I get lost so often. When I see something beautiful or attention grabbing I end up concentrating on it instead of where I'm going."

"One of the reasons?"

Aya suddenly looked sheepish, "I also have absolutely no sense of direction." Her eyes lit up as an idea occurred to her. "Can I ask you something?"

He gave her a 'what?' look. Gaara wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Can I sketch you?"

He blinked once...twice... "What?"

"Can I sketch you?" she repeated with excitement.

"Why?"

"You have an interesting face."

Gaara wasn't sure he believed what he was hearing. No one had ever said that before. He didn't think anyone had even thought it before. That was one question he never expected to be asked. Aya began to fidget in front of him and still he couldn't make himself say anything at all. He ended up saying the first thing that came to mind which wasn't an answer to the question. "What?"

She laughed, "You never expected that did you? I'm sorry. I won't if you don't want me to. It's just that your eyes. They're so expressive even though your face is expressionless. The contradiction makes me want to paint you."

He sat down with a shrug. Why not? He didn't lose anything by it. It wasn't like he had something else to be doing. It could be interesting to see what she painted. It would be like seeing himself through someone else's eyes. Generally he tried to avoid doing that since he already knew what others saw in him. However, this girl didn't see what others did. If she had then she would be scared just like everyone else. Perhaps this would answer the questions she brought out in him. Maybe this would tell him why she wasn't afraid.

Aya was thrilled. She sat and immediately began the sketch. She was afraid he would change his mind. Gaara was obviously not use to attention and he didn't seem to like it. She found it amusing that he was confused by his own actions. It was like he didn't expect himself to be so calm around her. She remembered a question she had for him.

"Ummm, don't get mad but my dad told me something about you. I was wondering if it was true."

He glanced at her to show she had his attention.

"He said that you killed your uncle. Did you?" When she saw the look in his eyes she quickly said, "You don't have to answer. I was just wondering. It's really none of my..."

"Yes, I did."

"...business." She blinked, "You did? What did he do to you?"

Gaara looked away from her. She was the first person to ask what Yashamaru did to him. Everyone else just assumed he killed him for no reason at all. However, even during a moment of insanity (how else could he explain his actions around this girl) he wouldn't ever talk about that night. Gaara merely looked away without saying anything.

Aya shrugged. If he didn't want to talk about it then she couldn't make him, even if she wanted to. So she returned to her sketch and worked at quickly as she could without missing anything. The two sat in silence for several hours. Aya didn't even notice the time passing until it was too dark to see her sketch pad. She blinked at it and then looked around. The sun was setting and it made a beautiful image. She couldn't wait to paint that either. She had wanted to finish the drawing of Gaara first. Speaking of Gaara, she looked over at him to see him watching her.

"I didn't get to finish. Ran out of light." She closed the pad with a small sigh of regret. Aya didn't think he would be willing to sit for more another sketching. He didn't seem to like people, her included. Not that she could blame him if the rumors she'd heard were true. The entire village hated and feared him. Even her clan, who she always thought above such things, feared him. When she asked why, no one could really give her an answer.

"Oh, I owe you another thank you, don't I?" she commented.

He looked at her in question.

"You saved me when I fell."

Gaara shrugged.

Aya swore that boy could speak more with one gesture than most people could with an entire paragraph. She smiled, "I'll get you something to thank you. I would offer to buy you lunch again but I get the impression you don't like being around others so I won't make you suffer my presence."

He didn't really care if she did anything to thank him or not. He couldn't even explain to himself why he saved her. It had just happened. Aya took the lack of a response as an agreement and turned to leave. She paused and looked back at him. "I don't know why everyone is afraid of you, Gaara. They won't really give me an answer. But, for what it's worth, I'm not afraid of you." She continued to make her way back down to the village, leaving a stunned Gaara behind her.

Aya eventually made it home. Her grandfather was waiting up for her. He gave her a small smile. Lord Hayate Hayashi was just as imposing as his son. He had salt and pepper hair that was more salt that pepper now. His blue eyes held wisdom that came with years of living. The old man adored his granddaughter. Aya was the jewel of his life and was made aware of that every time she saw her grandfather.

"So how was your day, Aya?" he asked her.

"Interesting. I saw Gaara again."

"He didn't hurt you did he?" her grandfather demanded.

"No. He startled me but that was it. I just turned around and there he was." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "He really should make more noise when he walks. Otherwise he'll give someone a heart attack."

"All he had to do is look at someone and they have a heart attack."

"But why?" Aya asked. "He doesn't seem that scary to me."

Hayate sighed and motioned for her to sit down. "Look, Aya. I'm not proud of what happened to Gaara. I want you to know that. But it happened."

"What?"

"Gaara is what we call a jinchuriki, a host of a tailed beast. While he was being born, the spirit of Shukaku was placed into his body. At first that was the only reason most of the village feared him. But something changed when he was about five or six years old. The death of his uncle. Yashamaru was the only person who took care of Gaara, so I was surprised when I heard he accepted the mission."

"What mission?"

"To assassinate Gaara. Because Shukaku lives in Gaara, the sand protects him on its own. When Yashamaru attacked Gaara the sand injured him and protected Gaara. As a result Yashamaru died. Ever since, Gaara has been...cold and cruel."

"Do you blame him?" she demanded, feeling angry on Gaara's behalf.

"No. But that doesn't change the facts. Everyone is afraid of him because Gaara is unstable and cruel. His only reason for living is to kill so he does. He's become a monster. Whether or not he's always been one or not doesn't matter anymore."

"I don't see a monster when I look at him. I see someone who wants just one person to care. I don't think he lives to kill. He might think that but it's not true."

"Then what does he live for?"

"I don't know. I don't think anyone can know until he does." Aya ran her fingers over the sketch book. Perhaps when she finished it she would know what was inside Gaara. But at the moment, she only knew what everyone else told her. Unless he suddenly decided to start talking. She didn't think that would happen anytime this century. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Aya."

She glanced back.

"Be careful. Gaara isn't stable. He could kill you at any moment and he would without hesitation or remorse."

"I know." She smiled, "But he still doesn't scare me. I don't fear death so he's got nothing to scare me with."

"Everyone is afraid to die."

She shook her head, "There are worse things than death, grandfather. Sometimes living is scarier. Gaara should know that better than everyone. He's in a living hell after all."

"Just make sure you don't join him there."

She smiled and wished him good night. Aya laid on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Gaara wasn't a monster. That much she was sure of. She was also sure that Gaara didn't agree with her. He believed he was a monster. That was why he lived to kill. It was the only way to prove he was still alive. Otherwise how would he know. He couldn't be hurt so their was no pain to remind him. The village avoided him so there was no one to tell him he was alive. All he had was killing. Aya closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. There would be time to deal with Gaara tomorrow.

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That's the second chapter. Let me know what you think.


	3. A Single Touch

This is the third chapter. I'm glad that you guys like the story so far. The title to this chapter isn't entirely accurate since there are two touches. But "A Single Touch" sounds better than "Two touches". At least I thought so.

I've finished ch. 4 but I won't put it up until tomorrow. I need to work on ch. 5 too. The beginning of ch 5 will be a short version of the chunin exams. No Aya will not travel to Konoha with Gaara (at least I don't plan on her doing so right now). Most of the chapter will take place right after the prelim battles and the fight with Naruto. Maybe I should have Aya go with them but I can't come up with a good reason for that to happen so it probably won't. Oh well, I'll let you read this chapter and worry about chapters 4 & 5 when I post them.

Disclaimer: insert standard disclaimer here because I just don't feel like doing it.

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Ch. 3: A Single Touch

Aya was wondering about the marketplace. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she believed she'd know it if she saw it. Aya really wanted to find something nice for Gaara to thank him for saving her life that day on the cliff. What did one get a guy one barely knew as a thank you for saving one's life? She had no idea. Aya finally gave up and went for a walk. What to do? What to do? She didn't think he was the stuffed animal type of person. Aya couldn't see him decorating his room with anything like cute figurines or posters. Gaara also wasn't the type to appreciate gift baskets or anything like that. What do you get for someone like Gaara?

She paused when she heard someone shouting. Aya turned to see two people sparing. One was a boy wearing black clothes from head to toe. His face had purple stripes painted on it and he fought using a puppet. The other fighter was a girl with blond hair and wore a white dress. She was fighting with a large fan using wind jutsu. A man stood below them watching with a critical eye. He had one eye covered with a white cloth and wore a jonin's uniform. Off to the side stood a bored looking Gaara. She watched the match our of curiosity. It was actually very interesting even if she would never do it. Aya didn't see much point in fighting. It seemed stupid and pointless to her. Thought, she supposed someone had to do it. Otherwise the other nations would take them over.

In what seemed like seconds, the fight was over. The girl used a blast of wind to knock the puppet out of the way and immediately fired a second wind bullet. The next thing Aya knew the boy was flying across the ground. He landed with a loud thud. She tilted her head in consideration as she wondered how he had lost. The two fighters had seemed evenly matched to her. Then it was as if the girl had gained some advantage only a fighter would recognize. Someone like Aya, a civilian, would only see that the girl had won.

The man walked over to the boy and began to tell him something. Aya was too far away to hear. She guessed he was telling the boy what he had done wrong and how to improve. It had just occurred to Aya that this was Gaara's genin team. The man must be Baki, the team's trainer. That would mean that the other two fighters were Gaara's siblings. Aya couldn't remember their names right then. She just remembered that someone had mentioned that Gaara was on the same team as his older brother and sister.

She glanced over to Gaara. He was looking at her. She smiled and waved. When she turned to leave she stopped. Uh-oh. It happened again. She was absolutely lost...again. Aya let out a small resigned sigh. There was just no helping her. She always got lost. Aya scanned the area around her, looking for something she recognized. Nothing. Oh well, that just left plan B. Wonder around until some nice person took pity on her, or she accidently found her way home by herself.

Gaara had noticed her during the sparing match. He had watched her as she examined the match between Temari and Kankuro. Once the fight was over she had looked at him and he was surprised when she acknowledged him. Then she had turned to leave. He was about to dismiss Aya altogether but he noticed her stop. She looked around and didn't move. Gaara sighed. He knew that body language. The foolish girl had gotten lost again. Without really thinking about it, Gaara walked over to her.

"Aya."

She turned and smiled, "Hello, Gaara. How are you?"

Instead of answering her question, he said, "You're lost."

Her smile turned sheepish, "Is it that obvious?"

He merely nodded.

Aya laughed, "I guess I am hopeless."

"Where were you going?"

"I was going to go home, but I think I've changed my mind." She reached into her mailbag and pulled out her sketchpad. "That is...if you don't mind sitting still for a few hours?"

He knew she wanted to finish the sketch of him. Why she wanted to sketch him at all was still a mystery to him but he had nothing to do right now. She wasn't terrible company so he supposed... What was he thinking? Everyone was terrible. There was no such thing as a good person. His eyes narrowed as he considered her for a moment. But what did she gain by talking to him? There was no way this foolish girl was an assassin. So what could she want from him?

"You don't have to. I was just wondering," she told him. Aya wouldn't lie to herself. She was very disappointed that she wouldn't be able to finish the sketch. The suspicious look in his eyes told her that he wasn't about to agree to let her. She smiled, "Just point me in the direction of my clan's compound. I'll get there eventually."

He shook his head, "You'll get lost again." He surprised them both by saying, "I'll take you."

Aya's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected that, and by the widening of his eyes, neither did he. She shook her head, "You don't have to do that..."

"What are you doing, Gaara? You know the Kazekage gets upset when you scare the villagers," someone interrupted.

Aya looked to see Baki standing right behind Gaara. The jinchuriki glanced back at Baki with cold eyes. It wasn't until right then that Aya could understand why the villagers were afraid of him. That cold look in his eyes was enough to scare anyone. Now why hadn't she noticed that before? When he turned back her, she saw it. The look changed. He was still distant and cold but something was missing. It was the hatred. Gaara didn't like her but he didn't hate her either. Somehow that made her feel very happy.

"You go home," Baki ordered her. "Gaara won't hurt you."

She smiled, "I know. Gaara doesn't scare me, sir." Aya looked at Gaara. She saw the anger burning in his eyes. He didn't like that Baki was treating him like he would harm anyone without reason. In an attempt to soothe his temper she said, "I really would like to finish the sketch if you'll let me."

Gaara had the pleasure of seeing Baki look shocked. Aya had just effectively shown him that the monster of Suna didn't bother her in the least. Gaara smirked and walked towards the cliffs. Aya followed hoping that meant he was going to let her finish the sketch. Baki watched them leave. He couldn't think of...well...anything. Did the girl have no sense of self-preservation. She had just walked away with a known killer. She had even volunteered to go with him.

Aya looked up at Gaara, "Do people always act like you're going to just go on a killing spree at any moment?"

He nodded.

"That's not nice," she commented absently.

"The world's not nice. It's a terrible, cold, and cruel place."

"No it's not. It's beautiful and full of life."

He gave her a look that said he didn't agree. She just smiled at him. The two walked in silence as they made their way up to the top of the cliffs. Aya immediately sat at the edge and pulled out her sketch pad. Gaara sat and looked out at Suna. He liked to come here to think and be alone. It was weird to find himself sharing his spot with anyone. At the same time Aya's presence didn't bother him at all. It was almost as if he trusted her. That was impossible. He didn't even trust himself, let alone a strange girl he had only met eight days ago. He looked over at her and saw that she was totally absorbed in what she was doing. It was hard to find anything threatening about her, especially since she looked so fragile. Gaara was willing to bet that there was a hint of steel in her though. Just enough that she wouldn't bend for anyone. Hadn't he seen it after all? She had stood up to Baki. Granted it wasn't a fight or an argument, but she had basically told the jonin that he was wrong. Yes, there was steel in her. She just hid it very well.

Aya worked in silence as she tried to finish the sketch before sunset. Gaara probably wouldn't sit with her like this a third time. Then again, she hadn't expected him to do it twice. Aya wondered if he had expected it. She had seen him surprised by his own actions several times during the short period she had known him. As she thought about the boy across from her time passed. Finally, her pencil finished the last line of the sketch. Aya sat back and smiled.

"Finished."

He tilted his head.

She shook hers, reading the question in his eyes. "Can't look yet. I've finished the sketch but that's just step one. I have to put it on canvas and paint it. Normally, I would have put it straight onto the canvas but I didn't think you would like that since it would require going into my clan's compound."

Gaara shrugged. It was done for him anyway. Now the girl could walk out of his life without looking back. Why did that bother him? It wasn't as if he liked her or anything. He didn't. Sabaku no Gaara hated everyone, including odd artists.

Aya stood and turned towards the path leading down the cliffs. "I better get going. The sun will set soon. Maybe I'll actually make it home before dark."

He remembered her tendency of getting lost. Gaara wondered if the girl got lost in her own compound. She started to leave but felt something stop her. When she glanced down, she saw that some sand had risen and wrapped around her wrist. She looked back to see Gaara watching her.

She tilted her head, "What?"

He made a motion with his hand and she saw sand come out of the gourd on his back. A few gestures had it forming a cloud of sand at the edge of the cliff. Gaara stepped onto it and waited. Aya understood and walked over. She glanced down a the sand then back at Gaara. The look in her eyes said it all.

"It's safe," he informed her.

She looked back at the shifting cloud of sand. With a deep breath, she stepped onto it. Aya immediately closed her eyes and waited to fall. She didn't. After a few seconds she risked opening one eye. Then both of them snapped open as the cloud began to move down slowly. Aya grabbed hold of the only stable thing near by...Gaara. When he felt something touch him, Gaara nearly jumped from the surprise. He looked down to see that Aya had grabbed hold of his arm and was as close to him as she could get. Gaara stared at her. No one had ever willingly touched him except Yashamaru. She was not only touching him. She was trusting him to keep her from falling.

They reached the bottom. Gaara's sand slid back into the gourd on his back at waited for Aya to calm down. When she did, Aya looked up at him then at his arm. She jumped back while apologizing. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't see fear in her eyes. Aya wasn't apologizing because she was afraid he'd hurt her. She was apologizing because she believed he didn't like to be touched. She might be right, but how would he know if he liked to be touched or not. No one had touched him in years. They were too afraid to...except her. Gaara thought about it for a moment and decided he didn't care. The touch hadn't hadn't been terrible, just surprising. He sighed. His life had been full of surprises since meeting Ayame Hayashi.

"Don't apologize," he told her.

Aya looked surprised but smiled, "Okay."

"Come on."

"Okay." She followed him as he led her home.

The two walked up to the compound just as he father was returning home. Kaito glanced over when he heard his daughter call him. The smile on his face faded when he saw who was walking next to his little girl. Sabaku no Gaara was watching Aya with what looked like confusion. Kaito could almost swear that the boy had no idea what to make of the bouncy girl next to him. Fear overrode everything else though. He didn't care that Gaara was confused or that there wasn't any fear in Aya. All that mattered was that his little girl was walking next to the monster of Suna.

"Ayame Hayashi," he snapped.

She stopped in front of him and tilted her head. There was fear and anger in her fathers eye but she couldn't figure out why. "What is it?"

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

She frowned in confusion, "Walking home?"

"With Gaara?!"

"Yes. He kept me from getting lost."

Kaito felt irritation war with relief. She wasn't hurt or scared. At the same time, she had been walking with the monster of Suna. Did she not think before she acted? What if Gaara had one of his insane moments? She would have been his target. He could have killed her. Kaito looked at Gaara. The boy was watching him with cold, hate filled eyes. The jonin winced and looked back at his daughter.

"Go inside, Ayame," he ordered her. Kaito did not want to finish this discussion in front of Gaara.

Aya's eyes narrowed, "Yes, Father."

He winced. She only called him Father when she wasn't happy with him. If she had her way, he would be the one getting the lecture when they got inside. Most people assumed that Aya was never got angry but they were wrong. She was angry just as frequently as she was happy. The difference was she would get her way passively. Most people didn't even realize they had lost an argument with her simply because Aya would win with a smile and sweet words. That wasn't always the case though. Aya was perfectly capable of tearing strips off of others with a sharp tongue. The look in her eyes now, told Kaito that she would be anything but passive towards him when they were inside.

She turned to Gaara, "I need to go. Are you going to want to see the painting when I'm finished with it?"

Gaara shook his head. Why bother? He saw the same face in the mirror. Besides, her father probably wouldn't let her come near him ever again. Aya watched him glance at her father and moved between the two. She reached out a hand until she felt Gaara's skin beneath her fingers. His eyes jerked to her face and widened in shock. She couldn't help the amused smile. One would almost think he wasn't use to being touched. She let her hand drop and waved good bye as she walked into the compound.

Kaito stood there looking at Gaara as the boy watched Aya walk up to the gates. Then Gaara looked back at him. The cold, hate filled look was back. Kaito had noticed that when the boy looked at Aya the hate wasn't there. The older shinobi considered this and wondered if maybe Aya was right. Maybe the boy just needed to be accepted. He looked back at his daughter who was waiting for him. Why not? The boy hadn't done any harm yet. If a twelve year old girl was willing to risk giving Gaara a chance, why couldn't he, a fully grown shinobi?

Kaito turned back to Gaara, "Have you eaten yet?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed in suspicion but he shook his head.

"Why don't you join us then? It should be ready by now."

He watched the boy's eyes widen in surprise then look over to Aya. The girl was smiling. When Gaara looked back at Kaito, some of the hate had left those sea foam eyes. The monster of Suna nodded and the three of them walked into the Hayashi compound. Gaara's presence made the rest of the clan nervous at first but they slowly began to relax a little. The clan's fear of Gaara didn't completely vanish, but something had changed. They weren't the only ones. Something had changed in Gaara too. He felt...he didn't know what he felt. It wasn't anger or hatred. Those emotions he was very familiar with. Besides the feeling wasn't unpleasant. It was...warm. He'd never felt anything like it before. What could it be? He wondered if he would ever know. Not that it mattered. The feeling would be gone when he left and he would probably never feel it again. It would be for the best. He was getting too use to the foolish girl that wasn't afraid of him. He was a monster and monsters weren't allowed to get attached to others...even if they were foolish girls that made the monster feel odd.

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Don't forget to review

(and yes i know Gaara is ooc. That's intentional because if I didn't make him ooc there wouldn't be much of a story. This would be the story if he wasn't.....

"Hi, Gaara," Aya greets.

Gaara glares and walks away or Gaara glares and then kills her.

.....see isn't that boring. Now my ooc gaara suddenly doesn't seem so bad, does it? Again if it made you feel better he was annoyed by his oocness.)


	4. Aya's World

I'm finally posting the next chapter. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far.

Disclaimer: don't wanna say so I won't. Just look at the other chapters to see that i own nothing...damn it. I just said it. Oh well.

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Ch. 4: Aya's World

It was another month before Aya saw Gaara again. She spent the time on the cliffs with a canvas working hard. She had finally come up with a present for Gaara and she wanted it to be perfect. Usually, Gaara might have accidentally stumbled onto her and her work but he was gone on a mission. He was also busier than normal since the Chunin exams were coming up in a few weeks. That meant it was safe to make the surprise. She didn't want Gaara to see it until she was finished.

Someone called and she looked over her shoulder. It was a friend of hers from the village. Hana was a nice girl with shoulder length brown hair and almond-shaped, brown eyes. Her clan lived next to Aya's so the two had met on Aya's first day in the village. They had become friends almost instantly. Hana stopped beside Aya and glanced at the painting with interest.

"It's beautiful, Aya."

"Thanks. I'm almost finished with it. Just a few more strokes and it'll be finished."

"You've been working on it nonstop for a month. Who's it for?"

Aya hesitated before answering. She wasn't sure she should tell anyone that she was making the painting for Gaara. They would think she was nuts. Then again, they thought that anyway since she talked to him three times now and lived. Her clan had softened it's attitude towards him after the dinner but they were still afraid. Not that she could blame them. Gaara had that effect on everyone. Everyone but her that is.

"A...I would say friend but that's not an accurate description. It's a thank you present for someone."

"Who?"

Again Aya hesitated but answered, "Sabaku no Gaara."

"WHAT?! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!"

"No need to shout. I can hear just fine," Aya grumbled. "No I haven't. He helped me so I want to thank him. How does that make me crazy?"

"You're delusional. Gaara doesn't help anyone."

"He did help me...twice." Aya turned back to the painting as she explained what had happened when she saw Gaara the first two times. Her voice trailed off as she got lost in the painting again. A little red here, some yellow hear. There needs to be more blue right here. The canvas became her world as she worked. She forgot that Hana was standing behind her staring at her in shock. She forgot that she was hungry and had missed lunch. None of that mattered. In fact, nothing mattered expect the canvas in front of her.

Hana listed to her friend's story and could only stare in shock. Aya had talked to Gaara. Aya was making a painting for Gaara. That was just too much to digest. How in the world had that happened? Silly, Aya just told her how it happened. Hana still couldn't believe it. She focused on Aya. That at least wouldn't overload her circuits.

She watched as Aya's eyes became focused and distant. Her friend wasn't here anymore. Aya was in whatever world she saw in front of her. Hana admired Aya's abilities with art. Her friend could make anything seem beautiful without any effort. Where anyone else would see just a plain old yellow flower, Aya would see a radiant yellow blossom. Hana wondered if all artist could do that or if that was a talent unique to Aya. Hana settled down and watched as Aya painted.

After what seemed like hours, Aya stepped away from the canvas with a satisfied smile. "There. It's finished."

Hana stood and walked over. It took her breath away. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks. Now I just have to find Gaara. Do you know if he's returned from his mission yet?"

"Yes. He's back. I believe his team has the day off today."

"That's great. Can you help me wrap it up." Hana and Aya wrapped the painting in a cloth to protect it during travel. Once that was taken care of Aya lifted it and turned to rush down the path of the cliffs. "I have to go."

"Hey, Aya!"

Aya stopped and looked over at her friend.

"Here. The reason I came up here was to bring you something to eat." Hana pulled out a cookie from her bag and passed it to Aya. "Your mother said that you missed lunch."

"Thanks."

"Hey, are you sure about Gaara. I mean, some of the stories about him are terrifying."

"I'm sure. I know that he's scary to other people but I can't see why. He hasn't done anything to me or anyone I know."

Hana considered what Aya said and shrugged, "Maybe the stories are just that...stories. But still. He's...he's terrifying. When he looks at me, I feel like I might die of fright."

Aya shrugged, "I think it's because he knows you're afraid. It's like an animal. They can smell fear you know and they react to it. I think that's what Gaara does. When he knows you're afraid, he reacts with anger and hatred." She looked up at the sun. "I really need to go if I'm going to talk to him before dark. I'll see you later, Hana."

Aya rushed off. She only had a few hours before the sun completely set. All she had to do was manage not to get lost between here and Gaara's house. She knew he was the Kazekage's son. The Kazekage and his family lived in the large manor on the northern end of the village. She ran and luck was with her. Every time she got lost there was someone there to point her in the right direction. They gave her strange looks when she asked for directions to Sabaku no Gaara's house but didn't ask any questions.

By the time she reached Gaara's house the last of the sun's rays were disappearing. She was going to be very late getting home, but it would be worth it. She knocked on the door and waited. The Kazekage himself answered. That surprised her but she smiled and greeted him with a bow.

"Good evening, Lord Kazekage. I was hoping to speak with Gaara if it's alright?"

He gave her a look of surprise, "And why would you want to do that?"

"I have something for him."

"He probably won't want it."

"I know but I want to give it to him anyway. May I please see him?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. Gaara doesn't like others. He might be unhappy with visitors at his own home. I wouldn't want him to harm you."

Aya's eyes narrowed. She couldn't believe Gaara's own father thought he was a monster. No wonder Gaara had issues. Who wouldn't with a father like this? She restrained the urge to shout and scream. That rarely got anything accomplished. Instead, she gave the Kazekage the sweetest and most innocent smile she had.

"Oh, but sir, I just have to give it to him. I've been working on it for a month. Please. It'll only take a minute. Then I'll be gone. Cross my heart. And if Gaara causes any trouble you'll hear it, won't you? I mean, you're the strongest shinobi in our village. Gaara wouldn't be able to hurt someone in your own home."

His eyes narrowed. Part of him suspected that he was being manipulated. However, the girl's smile and eyes betrayed nothing but sweet innocence. With a sigh he motioned for her to come in. She bounced past him and asked for directions to Gaara's room. He told her and watched her walk off. Why did he get the feeling that he had just lost and argument?

Aya paused in front of Gaara's door to calm herself. She didn't want to give Gaara the gift while still annoyed. Once her temper had cooled, she knocked on the door. The door opened seconds later. Gaara looked at her in surprise. He had expected one of his siblings or his father. Instead, he found Aya standing at his door.

She smiled, "Hello, Gaara. I brought you something."

He stepped aside simply because he didn't know what else to do. She walked past him and turned as he shut the door. His eyes bore into her with curiosity. "What are you doing here?"

"Remember on the cliff the second time we met. I told you I was going to give you something a as a thank you. Well I finished it." She was brimming with excitement now. Aya loved giving presents more than she liked getting them. There was something about seeing someone's happy face when she gave them a gift that always made her smile. It had never occurred to her that Gaara might not like the gift and it probably never would. "Here."

She placed the canvas on the bed and began to untie the strings. Gaara walked over so he could get a look at what she had. When she pulled the cloth off, he could only stare. The girl was very talented. One the canvas was a painting of Suna. An orange sun was setting the background, providing many different shades of yellows, reds, and blues. The village itself seemed to be brighter somehow. As if someone had taken the plain old sand colored buildings and turned them into something wonderful. Never before had he seen Suna quite like this. Aya had put every detail in there making it seem real. He almost reached out and touched it, just to make sure it really was a painting.

He looked up at her, "You did this?"

She nodded, "I've been working on it since you left on your last mission."

"A month?"

Aya nodded again. "I wanted it to be just right. It's for you."

"Why?"

"To than..."

"I mean why this? Why not something else?"

"Because you once told me that you thought the world was an terrible, cold and cruel place. I disagreed with you. Since you didn't believe me, I wanted to show you what I saw when I looked at the world. See? It is beautiful." She looked at the painting with a satisfied smile. "I haven't named it. I wanted to let you do that."

He glanced back at the painting. No wonder she wasn't afraid of him. If she this is the world she saw, how could she be afraid of anything? For her there were vibrant colors and graceful curves everywhere. How could someone fear anything in that world? How could someone see this world? It wasn't the world he lived in. This was...

"Aya's World."

She blinked, "What?"

"The name. This is your world."

Aya tilted her head, "I never thought of it like that. Anyone can see this world, Gaara. You just have to know how to look."

He looked at her and shrugged, "I can't."

"Yes you can." She looked out the window and squeaked. She turned and rushed towards the door. "Oh. I am so late. I have to go home."

"Aya." Gaara's quiet voice stopped her when she opened the door. She glanced back at him with a curios expression. He looked up at her, "Thank you."

Her eyes widened in surprise then she smiled brilliantly. Aya turned and left Gaara alone in the room. He reached out and brushed a hand over the painting. It was his first gift of any kind. The monster of Suna allowed himself one small smile. The world in this painting was one he wished he could live in. There was probably no pain in there. No one would hate him for things he couldn't control. He wouldn't need to be a monster. He could just be Gaara. Gaara turned to the door. He would walk Aya home. Otherwise she wouldn't make it there before midnight.

Aya rushed down the stairs and paused whens he saw the Kazekage with his other two children. They looked at her with identical expressions of curiosity. The Kazekage stepped forward, "You looked panicked. Did he hurt you? I'll see that he's punished...."

Aya shook her head, "He didn't hurt me. I'm panicked because I'm going to be late getting home. I just know I'm going to get lost. I always get lost. I'm sorry, Lord Kazekage, but I really must go or my mother will start to worry about me. She always worries when I'm out after dark."

The Kazekage wasn't buying it. "Look, if he threatened you to keep you from telling me don't listen to him. Gaara can't hurt you while I'm around."

She looked at him. For a moment, everyone held their breath, waiting for her to tell them what Gaara did to her. She drew in a breath and said, "Lord Kazekage, let me tell you what your son did to me since you're so eager to hear it. He helped me. There. Are you happy now? I was lost so I asked him for directions and he showed me the way back to my clan's compound." Her blue-green eyes flashed with temper, "Contrary to popular belief, Gaara is not a monster and I'm not afraid of him. Quite expecting me to tell you he beat me or something. He didn't and he wouldn't."

They looked at her in shock. She started for the door but saw something out of the corner of her eyes. Aya looked up the stairs to see Gaara standing there. He was looking at her as if he didn't know what to make of her. She smiled and waved. He disappeared in a swirl of sand and reappeared next to her. She jumped in surprise.

"Come on," he ordered her as he walked towards the door.

"Huh?"

"I'm taking you home."

"But..."

He gave her a look, "You won't get there by yourself."

She opened her mouth to object but stopped. He was right. Chances were she would be lost before she even got started. So she smiled and fell into step beside him. Gaara's family watched them leave with identical expressions of shock and wonder. Sabaku no Gaara was taking someone home without intending to kill them. Their world had officially been turned upside down.

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That's it for now. Don't forget to send me a review.


	5. Chunin Exams

Here's chapter 5. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: just insert a "i don't own anything' phrase here then read the chapter

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Ch. 5: Chunin Exams

Aya was wondering around the village with Hana, enjoying the nice sunny day when they heard a commotion at the village gates. They exchanged a look then rushed to see what was going on. It was Team Baki returning from the preliminary matches for the Chunin exams. Aya watched Gaara as he walked through the gates. She hadn't seen or spoken to him since the night she had given him the painting. His team had left for Konoha just a few days after that night. Watching him now she knew something was wrong with him. Aya wasn't sure what it was but he wasn't the same. It was almost as if he was losing control of something inside of himself.

"What's wrong with Gaara, Aya?" Hana asked. "He seems…angrier than normal."

"I don't know. It's probably best not to ask."

"I thought you weren't afraid of him."

"I'm not. That doesn't mean I'm going to be stupid and question him when he's in a bad mood." She grinned, "I don't think he would hurt me physically but that doesn't mean he won't shout or something like that."

"I suppose that makes sense."

Aya glanced back and saw Gaara's eyes on her. She smiled and waved at him. Hana took her arm and dragged her away. Aya let her as the two of them wondered back towards the area their clans' lived in. They took their time since neither of them was in any hurry. Aya waved good bye to her friend and walked the short distance separating their compounds. She wondered about Gaara's anger. She wished she had known what had happened during the time he spent in Konoha. It worried her that he wasn't happy. Not that he was ever happy, she thought ruefully. Gaara was never happy but he hadn't been…whatever he was now. She released a sigh. She spent way too much time worrying about a boy that didn't care about her one way or the other.

She said hello to her clan as she walked in, and went straight to her room. Her room was large. Most of it was covered in canvases and other paint supplies. There were shelves full of books and sketch pads. On her walls hung finished paintings that would probably be given to a friend or a friend of a friend. Her bed was in a corner and was rarely made. In short, Aya's room looked like what it was…the room of a scatter-brained artist.

In the center of the room was an easel with a cover over it. She pulled the cover off to study her latest painting. It wasn't finished yet, but it wouldn't be long now. The brooding eyes were starting to come out now. A few more touches here and there and it would be perfect. She didn't know what she would do with it once it was finished. Perhaps she would keep this one. Aya rarely kept her paintings. If she did that then she wouldn't have room for anything else. Usually she painted at least one painting a week. There had been a few special paintings that she took her time on but they were few and far between. This painting was one of the special ones.

"Aya, it's time for dinner," her mother called.

"Coming, Mom." Aya covered the painting and rushed out of the room.

Meanwhile, Gaara was sitting in his room feeling annoyed. He glanced up at the wall where the painting Aya had given him hung. Some of his nerves calmed a little. He could feel the anger and rage eating at the edges of his mind. Part of him wanted to rush out and prove to himself that he was still alive. Another part wanted to go find something to soothe him. An image of Aya smiling at him appeared in his head. He shook it out. That wouldn't help. He didn't want company. He didn't want anyone. All he wanted was to remember what he was and that he was alive.

During their break from the chunin exames, he met with Sasuke and they had a talk. Just a few days before the start of the finals, a sound nin attacked him so that he could be the one to fight Sasuke Uchiha during the finals. Gaara took care of him with little regret. The problem came when he looked down to see Aya standing there watching him with wide eyes. She had seen him kill the sound nin. Now why in the world did that bother him? Gaara watched her wondering what her reaction would be. She would probably be terrified of him now. Why wouldn't she be? She had just witness him murder a man.

Gaara came down to where she stood and she placed her hands on her hips. Aya looked up at the roof then back to Gaara. There wasn't any fear in her eyes. "Did he suffer?" she demanded.

He shrugged. Gaara had never been the recipient of his sand coffin so he had no idea if they suffered or not.

"I hope so. He deserved it if he was willing to attack you over a fight. Why is fighting this Sasuke Uchiha so important anyway? He's just another shinobi. And you have enough problems to deal with already without that other ninja adding to them. I mean, you have a whole village that hates you. What more of a problem do you need?"

She began to pace and gesture angrily with her hands as continued ranting. Gaara couldn't hear her anymore. He was still trying to get over the fact that she wasn't angry because he had killed someone. She was angry because someone had attacked him. This girl…this foolish girl was someone he would never understand. Aya was the first for a lot of things in his life. She was the first to look at him without fear. She was the first to touch him. The first person to give him a gift of any kind. Now she was the first person to be angry on his behalf.

"…and the nerve of him to come to your own village…"

"Aya," he interrupted.

"…attacking you like that…"

"Aya," he said a little louder.

"…what was he thinking? The jerk…"

Gaara walked over to her. He took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. Aya stopped ranting as she gazed at him with curiosity. When he was sure he had her full attention, Gaara said, "It's not worth getting upset about."

Her eyes narrowed, "Yes it is. He tried to kill you, Gaara. That upsets me."

"But it doesn't bother you that I killed him?"

She frowned, "Well, yes but that's different. I just don't like death. But you were defending yourself."

"I'm not always defending myself when I kill."

"Gaara, I'm not as naïve as you seem to think. I'm fully aware that you're a shinobi and as such are required to kill."

"So was he."

"That's different. He's not you."

He looked confused, "How does that change anything?"

"It changes everything, Gaara. Things that bother me about other people don't with you. Besides, you wouldn't kill someone without a reason."

An image of the leaf shinobi he had had fought during the elimination rounds of the exams flashed in his mind. "I wouldn't be so quick to say that, Aya."

"There's always a reason for you to kill, Gaara. You just don't always know what it is." Aya smiled, "You're still different from other's though."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

"You really are a foolish girl."

Aya could only laughed, "I know. My father tells me that frequently." She looked up at the lack of sunlight. "Speaking of which, I better get home."

He shook his head, "You were lost again, weren't you?"

She grinned, "Of course not. I was just...taking a walk."

He gave her a look that said he didn't believe her. She just continued to grin at him. With a sigh, Gaara started walking towards her compound. Aya understood the sigh and the movement. She followed behind him as he led her home. Gaara was leaving for the finals the next day. Aya had come to the village gates to say good bye. He promised to be careful, though he wasn't sure why he did. Team Baki left for Konoha once again.

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She ran through the village behind her father. Word had just reached their compound and she wouldn't stay in the compound. Her father had agreed to show her the way so she wouldn't get lost. They rushed into the building and through the halls until they reached his room. Kaito let his daughter go inside first. Laying on the hospital bed was Sabaku no Gaara.

"Gaara," Aya whispered as she brushed a hand over his forehead. "Is he going to be alright?"

Kaito stepped up and checked Gaara for any serious injuries. "I think he'll be fine. He seems to just be tapped out of energy."

Aya felt relief swim through her. She saw that he was still bleeding. Each wound was coated with dirt and grim. She looked around and there wasn't a medic in sight. "Why hasn't he been treated? Who's taking care of him?"

"I'll check." Kaito left the room. A few minutes later he came back and was livid. "Those rotten bastards. And they call themselves medical nins. They should all be beaten bloody and then told that no one can heal them."

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"No one is taking care of him. They're all to bloody afraid of him."

"Oh...what do we do then?"

"I'll take care of it," Kaito replied. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Aya stepped out of his way. Among other talents, Kaito was an experienced medic. He was often sent on high risk missions because of this. Unlike other medical nins he didn't work in the hospital. That had been his choice. More shinobi survived a mission if he went with a team rather than waiting till they returned to treat them. He put his skills to use now as he tended to Gaara's injuries. He glanced up at her, "Aya, go to him home and get an overnight bag for him."

She nodded and rushed out of the room, nearly crashing into Kankuro on her way. Gaara's older brother tilted his head, "What are you doing?"

"I was going to get some things for Gaara. Dad says that he'll have to stay here overnight."

Kankuro's eyes narrowed and then widened again, "You're the girl that came by our house a few weeks ago."

She nodded, "Can you show me the way to your house. I'm always getting lost and Gaara won't sleep forever."

Kankuro examined the girl in front of him and saw that she was really worried about his brother. That immediately put her on his good side. "Follow me. I'll even help you pack the bag."

She smiled and followed after him. They grabbed everything Gaara would need when he woke up as quickly as they could. Both of them wanted to be there when Gaara woke up. Kaito had already finished treating Gaara by the time they returned to the hospital. He looked over at his daughter with a smile, "He should wake up sometime tomorrow morning."

"He'll be alright?" Aya asked.

He nodded, "He'll be fine, Aya." Kaito glanced at Kankuro, "Hello, Kankuro."

"Thanks for treating my brother, Kaito. No one else would."

Kaito's eyes narrowed, "Yes I know. I'll be having words with the head of the medical core about it too."

"Can I stay here until he wakes up, Dad?" Aya asked as she stood by Gaara's bed.

Her father nodded, "I'll check on him in the morning."

"Are you going to talk with the medical core leader now?" Kankuro asked.

Kaito nodded, "I want to do it while I'm still angry."

"I'm coming with you then. I have a few words for the medics."

The two of them left the room. Aya settled down in the chair next to Gaara's bed with a sketch pad. Around midnight the page started to blur so she decided to rest her eyes for just a few minutes. She folded her arms on the edge of the bed and rested her head on them. One of her hands was close to Gaara's, so she held his hand in hers. She closed her eyes. Just for a few minutes then she would continue sketching.

Gaara woke when the sunlight lit up his room. He opened his eyes slowly and took a quick survey of the pain he felt. It wasn't as bad as he was expecting. When he started to sit up, he felt something on his hand. Gaara glanced down to see Aya was holding his hand in her sleep. For a moment, he laid their completely dumbfounded. What in the world was she doing here? Carefully he sat up and scanned the rest of the room. He was in the Suna hospital. How had he gotten there?

The door opened and Kaito walked in. Aya's father looked decidedly smug. When he saw Gaara, he grinned, "So you're awake. That's good."

Gaara glanced at Aya's sleeping form.

"She stayed with you all night. I think she was worried about you waking up alone." Kaito walked over and placed a hand glowing with medical chakra over Gaara's forehead. "Most of your injuries are fully healed now. You'll still have to take it easy for a few days but you'll be fine. I need to go. Take care of Aya, Gaara." With that, Kaito left the room.

Gaara carefully pulled his hand out of Aya's and got up. He lifted her carefully and laid her down on the bed without waking her. The girl could probably sleep through a hurricane, he thought with a smirk. Gaara went into the shower and washed off. When he came out, Aya was still asleep. He sat on the bed next to her and shook her shoulder gently. Aya's eyes opened slowly. She sat up and scanned the area around her with sleepy blue-green eyes. When her gaze landed on Gaara, she stared at him blankly for a moment. Then memories surfaced and she came awake in a second. Aya threw her arms around his neck and just held on.

"You're okay. I was worried when they brought you in. I know Dad said you would be fine but still... I was worried."

"I'm fine."

"I know."

"You can let go now."

She shook her head.

"Aya..." He stopped when he noticed she was shaking. She really had been worried about him. No one had worried about him before. How...nice. He hesitantly, and awkwardly, wrapped an arm around her. It felt odd to comfort someone but what else could he do? He couldn't just leave her like this.

Her shaking finally subsided and she pulled back. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like people touching you."

He shook his head, "I don't really care one way or the other."

"Oh...Well never mind then." Aya looked him up and down, "You definitely look less beat up."

He shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed, "You've changed."

"What?"

"You've changed," she repeated. "That 'I hate everyone' look isn't there anymore. What happened?"

He looked out the window and stared at his village. "I've learned a few things."

"Like?"

He turned back to her, "The whole world isn't a cruel and ugly place."

She smiled, "See. I told you that you could see it too."

"Aya, I'm going to talk to Kankuro about this too but..." He debated on how to say what he was thinking. "I want to change. I don't want to be a monster anymore."

"You never were," she replied with a shrug.

Gaara decided not to argue the point. Aya would never understand what was in him. She saw the world too differently. To her, he had always been a human being even while the rest of the village saw him as a monster. "I've decided to become the kazekage."

Her eyes widened, "But I thought you hated the village."

"I did. But now..." He frowned. Gaara wasn't good at putting his thoughts into words. Probably because he never spoke very much at all. No one cared what he had been thinking before, so why tell them? He looked up at her and knew what to say. "I want to be the person you see. I want other people to see that person."

She blinked and then smiled, "You already are."

He shook his head, "But I will be."

"I'll do what I can to help."

"So will we," said a new voice from the door.

Gaara and Aya turned to see Temari and Kankuro standing there. Kankuro was grinning, "We'll support you, Gaara."

Gaara couldn't think of nothing to say, so he said nothing. His eyes said it all. It wouldn't be easy but that didn't matter. Gaara was use to hard work. He didn't care what it took or how long it took. He would prove to everyone that he wasn't a weapon or a monster. Most importantly, he would prove it to himself.

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There it is. Let me know what you thought of it.


	6. No Title

Sorry it took a while for the update but fanfiction wasn't being very cooperative. For some unknown reason it would let me login the other day. Oh, well. Here's the next chapter. I hope it doesn't sound too scatter-brained. The events are in chronological order it that helps any.

Disclaimer: unfortunately I do not own Naruto or any characters from Naruto. If I did then Sasuke wouldn't have become a bad guy...or he wouldn't have stayed a bad guy for very long anyway. Oh, and I would not have killed Gaara even for a moment...that really upset me.

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Ch. 6: No Title (can't think of one)**

Aya was upset. Well, that might have been an understatement. Gaara was about to leave on a mission but Temari and Kankuro wouldn't be there with him. As part of the 'change how the village sees me' plan, Gaara would go on missions with other teams. The part that worried Aya was that the other shinobi didn't want Gaara on their team. As soon as they realized that he wouldn't fight back they would make his life miserable. Nothing she or his siblings said could talk him out of this. Gaara was determined.

"Alright, fine. Have it your way," Aya told him in exasperation. "But if they hurt you I will murder them."

He smirked, "I don't doubt it."

"And I'm coming with you to meet them."

He nodded in acceptance. Gaara knew she was worried about him and couldn't really blame her. Normally, the shinobi of the village were too afraid to piss him off. However, on this mission he would have to hold his temper. Things would get very ugly when they realized that he wouldn't fight them at all. They walked up to the area where Gaara would be meeting his team for this mission. Aya looked around and relaxed a little. Her father was part of the team. She shot Gaara a look that told him that she didn't appreciate him keeping that bit of info to himself. He just shrugged in response. When she turned back to his team, she saw that the other two members of the squad were staring at Gaara with fright.

Kaito also noticed this and stepped forward and held out a hand. "Welcome to the team, Gaara."

Gaara took the offered hand with a nod. Aya smiled at her father with gratitude. She looked at the other two jonin then back at her father, "Which one of you is leading the mission?"

"I am," Kaito replied. "The other two just obtained the rank of jonin. This mission shouldn't be too difficult."

She nodded but was worried anyway. Aya always worried about her father when he left for a mission. Now she had two people to worry about. She looked between them, and released a sigh. This was going to be very difficult on her. She knew it.

"Kaito, it's time to go," one of the other two jonin stated.

"Oh, dear," Aya said and hugged her father. She gave Gaara the same treatment. "Promise me you'll both be careful," she begged them.

"We'll be fine, Aya. I promise we'll look out for each other," Kaito replied. Gaara nodded his head.

"Alright." She stepped back and waved as they walked away. Aya didn't move until she couldn't see them anymore. She made her way home and prayed for Gaara's and her father's safety.

That wasn't the last time Gaara left for a mission with other teams. Aya spent many worried night hoping things would be alright while he was gone with his team. Some of the shinobi that had been on his team began to accept him. Her father even began to request Gaara's presence on missions. They weren't all accepting though. Many still feared and hated him. Those were the ones that would give Gaara the worst jobs possible on a mission or make him stand guard every night of the mission.

The most determined of Gaara's haters was Hajime. Hajime was the most popular boy in the village. He was the same age as Gaara. Unlike Gaara, he was charismatic and generally good natured. He had shaggy black hair and deep blue eyes. The females of the village always stared at him in admiration, and the males respected his strength and intelligence. Hajime was the most sought after person in the village for one reason or another. Aya couldn't stand him and never had been able too. She always thought that he was a arrogant jack ass that needed to be put in his place. When he started making his hatred of Gaara obvious, her hatred for Hajime reached new peaks. She suddenly wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp every time she saw him. Unfortunately for Aya, her defiance and hatred of him attracted his attention simply because no one had hated him before.

"Hello, Aya," a cool voice greeted behind her several weeks after Gaara's return from the chunin exams. Aya was looking around trying to look for something. When Hajime spoke to her, she turned with a glare. What did he want? When she asked him that, Hajime merely grinned, "I was just going to offer to help you. You looked lost again."

"I don't need or want your help, Hajime. I don't want to talk to you either. Go away." She turned her back on him and stalked off. She was lost again but that didn't mean she was going to tell him that. She sensed that he was still behind her and nearly growled. Stupid annoying prick, she thought to herself. Just when she thought she was going to have be nasty she saw Kankuro. Gaara's older brother smiled when she called out and waited for her to catch up. "Please get me out of here. I don't care where we go just as long as Hajime isn't there," she pleaded.

Kankuro laughed and led her through the village. "I was just on my way to meet Temari for lunch. You can join us if you like."

"I would thanks."

"You were lost again weren't you?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. Kankuro liked to tease her but that was okay. He teased all his friends. It was when he didn't joke or tease you that you had to worry. That meant he didn't like you or he was very angry. She took the teasing for what it was, an offer of friendship. They walked into the restaurant and saw Temari waving them over. She greeted them both as they sat across from her. Aya liked Temari. The older girl was strong and intelligent. She didn't let anyone push her around and anyone that thought Temari was a pushover soon learned their mistake.

"What took you so long, Kankuro?" Temari demanded.

"I lost track of the time. Good thing too. Our lost little friend here needed saving from the big bad Hajime."

"Bastard," Temari grumbled. Like Aya, she didn't appreciate Hajime's treatment of Gaara. This attracted his attention to her as well. Aya was often amused by Hajime's attempt to talk to Temari. The wind mistress would frequently hit him for his troubles...or at least attempt to. Hajime was on the same level of skill as she was so he managed to block or dodge the attacks...most of the time.

"I agree," Aya replied with an annoyed sigh. "Can't he bother one of his fan girls?"

"Apparently not," Temari stated with a sigh identical to Aya's.

Kankuro shrugged, "You'll just have to put up with him."

"But I don't have to like it," Aya countered.

Kankuro's grin flashed then he said, "By the way, Aya. Gaara will be returning from his mission tomorrow."

"That's great. I hope everything went alright."

"Even if it didn't, Gaara won't say anything. You know he doesn't complain about anything," Temari replied with some annoyance.

Eventually they left again and headed their separate way. The next day Gaara returned to the village but didn't stay long. A call for help arrived from Konoha. Sasuke Uchiha had left the village to join Orochimaru. Gaara and his siblings were sent to help the Konoha shinobi retrieve Sasuke. They were gone for several days and Aya worried about them the entire time. When they did return, she was sad to hear that, although no one died, the mission had been a failure. Sasuke Uchiha had become a missing nin.

"Why is this Sasuke guy such a big deal?" she asked Gaara while they ate lunch the next day.

He shrugged, "He's strong and determined. More importantly, his friends didn't want him to leave. Orochimaru is their enemy and Sasuke betrayed them by joining him."

"Oh...what's this Sasuke like?"

"Like I was. He's full of anger and bitterness. One day he'll see what I did. You can't live with those emotions alone. They're like a poison. They'll slowly eat away at who you are until there's nothing left."

"I suppose he'll learn that one day. How did his friends take the failure?"

"Not well."

She thought about how she would feel in there place and shook her head, "I can't blame them. That kind of thing would hurt...a lot. To have a friend betray you like that...I don't even what to think about it."

Gaara shrugged, "I wouldn't know."

Aya looked at him with a frown. Gaara didn't have any friends...unless he counted her. She was never sure what he thought of her, and she couldn't bring herself to ask. What if he didn't? Could she bare to hear it? Aya didn't think she could, so she didn't ask. Instead she continued acting as a friend because she saw him as one. She hoped that one day he would tell her what he thought of her. That way she could quit worrying about it. She didn't think that would happen any time soon though. Although Gaara had changed and was more friendly that he had once been, he still wasn't comfortable showing emotion or discussing his thoughts. He probably never would be.

"What will happen if they ever catch him now?" she wondered.

"I don't know. The penalty for being a missing nin is death, but I don't think his teammates could kill him or allow anyone else to. They'll fight anyone who tries."

"Do you think he'll ever return?"

"I don't know. It depends on him I guess."

"I hope so. I like happy endings."

Somehow that didn't surprise him. Gaara looked at her and smirked, "I suppose you liked fairytales as a child."

"Of course. They always end happily. Real life is depressing enough without my stories being sad too."

He shook his head at the happy girl across from him. If she ever found real life depressing he would be very surprised. Aya was always happy and the proof that she saw a beautiful world was hanging on the wall in his bedroom. The painting she made for him now served as a reminder to himself that the entire world isn't an ugly place. Sometime, if you looked, it can be worth living in. He called the painting "Aya's World" because that was how Aya saw the world around her. Perhaps if Sasuke had seen that world in Konoha he would have thought twice about leaving it behind. Oh well, things couldn't be changed now. Gaara had his own issues to deal with. Sasuke Uchiha could wait until later.

A few weeks later, Gaara found himself walking through the village with Aya. He was miserable. It wasn't Aya that bothered him, though she was disgustingly cheerful even though it was just an hour after dawn. He thought it was way too early to be cheerful and usually he grumbled at her about it in the morning. That wasn't what bothered him today though. Today it was where they were going. His siblings had insisted that he come. As the strongest shinobi in the village it would be very beneficial to others for him to be there. There was a school. Gaara scowled. Why in the world would he want to go to a school to train others? They would be too afraid to learn from him. Besides, he couldn't teach. Teaching required speaking in full sentences to people he barely knew. Gaara was just getting comfortable doing that with his family and Aya. How in the world was he suppose to do that with strangers?

They reached their destination. Gaara looked at Aya, "You don't have to come."

"I want to. I like to watch. It's interesting to see other's fight believe it or not."

"Have it your way," he told her with a shrug.

Gaara held the door open and let her enter in front of him. All fell silent when they saw Gaara walk in. Aya looked at the trainees. They all looked nervous to have the infamous Sabaku no Gaara in their presence. Aya found a comfortable spot to sit and watched the class unfold. She knew Gaara didn't want to be there. He was forced to come to keep him busy. Gaara had just returned from a difficult mission and had used up a great deal of chakra. Her father had prescribed rest so that Gaara could recover from using so much of his chakra. Since Gaara refused to rest like a normal recovering person, his siblings told him to help them in the school. At least then they could keep an eye on him to make sure he wasn't over doing things. Aya came so she could keep an eye on Gaara as well, though she told him it was so she could watch the training.

When the students were told to pick their teacher, the kids split themselves between Temari and Kankuro. Aya was about to get up and go to Gaara when she saw that one of the kids was standing in front of him. The girl was asking for him to teach her. She was about thirteen years old with shoulder length brown hair and dark eyes. Aya recognized her as the girl that had been nervous about using weapons. She couldn't help the smile. Sure it was only one girl but it was still a decent start for Gaara. Yesterday there wasn't even one girl that would speak to him. Now one wanted to train with him. Perhaps there was hope for Gaara yet.

Gaara took Matsuri under his wing. Aya pulled out her sketch pad and occupied herself while they trained. Soon she noticed a shadow fall over her sketch pad. She looked up at the owner of the shadow. Gaara raised an eyebrow, "You've been sitting there for several hours. Time for lunch."

She started to get up but nearly fell. Her muscles were stiff from sitting in the same position for too long. Gaara grabbed her arm and helped her up. She thanked him and looked around. The area was empty. Aya looked back at him, "Where did everybody go?"

"To lunch or training."

Her stomach growled, "I guess that's where I need to go too."

He nodded. Aya stood and followed him out of the building. Just outside they saw Temari and Kankuro talking to a guard that had been beaten. Gaara frowned. He recognized the shinobi as one of the ones that guarded the gate to Suna. If he was here and beaten then something was very wrong. He caught up to his siblings and they told him everything the guard had told them. A group called the Shitenshounin had said they would kill someone important to Gaara for every day that he didn't respond to their challenge. Gaara glanced around and saw that everyone that mattered to him was right there except for... He suddenly turned and started to run. The others followed him wondering where he was going. When they reached the training yard everyone saw a Jouhyou laying on the ground. Gaara's student, Matsuri, was no where to be found.

Hours later the sand siblings emerged from the council's meeting room. Aya jumped up and rushed forward. "Well? What happened?"

"They're sending us out without any back up teams," Temari stated in disgust. "They all believe it would be better if Gaara died during this attack."

Aya's eyes widened and she looked at Gaara, "Is that true?"

He nodded.

"Those stupid, idiotic, bastards," Aya snapped. "How could they be so cold? I'm going in there and giving them a piece of my mind."

She started to stalk into the council room but Gaara stopped her. She glared at him. He shook his head, "Now is not the time. Matsuri comes first."

Aya released a sigh, "Fine. But I will have a long talk with them later."

He found himself smirking, "I don't doubt it." Gaara looked at his siblings, "Let's go."

Aya couldn't go. She wasn't a shinobi. Not only would she not be able to keep up with them, but she would probably be in the way. So she returned to her clan's compound to wait. She paced back and forth as she waited. Occasionally one of her clan members would come to check on her but no one disturbed her. She didn't want them too. Aya was worried and like any other emotion she showed it without reservation. Eventually she started to paint, hoping that would take her mind off of her friends' danger. It took what felt like an eternity for them to return to Suna. Aya heard her father calling and rushed out with a prayer. Please, tell me Gaara returned safely, she begged any listening god. When she came within sight of the door, she put on a burst of speed and felt relief flood her system. Aya threw her arms around Gaara's neck.

Gaara felt something slam into him and barely kept himself from falling. He knew it was Aya so he didn't attempt to make her let go. Instead, he waited until she was calm again to step away from her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. How about you? Matsuri? Temari and Kankuro?"

"We're all fine. A team from Konoha arrived just in time to help us."

She smiled, "That's great." Aya suddenly frowned, "But...wasn't Konoha chasing after Sasuke Uchiha?"

"They don't know where he is. Time doesn't stop. They have other things to worry about too."

"I guess you're right. I wish them luck though." Aya felt sadness on Konoha's behalf, "I don't know what I'd do if someone I cared about had betrayed me, like he did them."

Gaara shrugged, "You just keep going until you can't anymore."

She nodded. Her father looked between them and let out a sigh. Kaito knew his daughter well. He knew where her feelings for Gaara were going if they weren't already there. If she wasn't already in love with him, she was on the verge of it. As her father he wanted her happiness, but at the same time, he wanted to strangle any boy that thought himself worthy of Aya. She was and always would be his little girl after all. Kaito looked at Gaara again. Oh well, at least she picked someone semi worthy of her. Gaara was a good kid and would grow up to be a honorable man...one day anyway.

"Why don't you and your siblings join us for dinner, Gaara. Since you're here and it's time," Kaito offered. The three sand siblings nodded and followed Aya and Kaito inside. There they told the Hayashi clan about the mission and answered all of the questions. Aya looked at Gaara with a smile. He tilted his head, "What?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just happy for you."

His eyes widened in surprise then he nodded in acceptance. He didn't know that his eyes, usually distant and guarded, had softened just a little as he watched Aya. Everyone else did though. They knew that Aya was beginning to get to Gaara. After that Aya's clan began to make bets with each other on how long it took Gaara to notice his feeling towards the girl.

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That's it. Let me know what you think. I'm almost finished with ch. 7 so it should be posted soon. Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke are in it. I would put Naruto in there too but he's training with Jaraiya so he'll just have to waint until he get's back to be in the story. Anyways, don't forget to send me a review for this chapter.

By the way, I am working on a story that I've made completely from scratch. In other words it has my own characters, plot, and even my own world. I want to see if it's any good before I spend too much time on it. If anyone would like to read it and let me know what they think of it please let me know because I will not be posting it. Instead I'll e-mail you the chapters...if you want anyway. (that means I will need an e-mail adress if you want to read it. mine is .) If you want to read the story just send me an e-mail and I'll send you the prologue and first two chapters.


	7. Camping

Here's the next chapter. I left you hanging at the end and I would apologize but I wouldn't mean it. I like cliff hangers...when I'm writing them anyway. I'm not too fond of them when I'm the reader. Anyways, I'll let you read it. As promised, Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke are in this chapter. They'll be in the next one too.

Disclimer: how many times do I have to tell you...I own nothing...except my made up characters that are not in Naruto...right now that means only Aya and her clan.

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Ch. 7: Camping**

The next year was very uneventful. Naruto left to train with Jiraiya and wouldn't be heard from until the training was finished. There was still no word about Sasuke Uchiha or Orochimaru. Aya felt bad for his friends but there was nothing she could do about it. Instead she focused on helping Gaara. Gaara continued to prove to everyone that he was no longer a killing machine. It was working. Little by little the people of Suna began to relax. There were many who still wouldn't accept him but that was to be expected. Gaara had been a source of fear for them for a long time after all. It might take him years to win everyone's trust again. Even then, some would probably never accept him. Gaara had learned to live with that fact.

Aya released a sigh. She was tired. The artist was on a camping trip with Temari. The wind mistress decided she wanted to take a break and offered to take Aya with her. Since Aya had never been outside of Suna or the village she had lived in before that, she was more than happy to go. She asked Temari to help her pack since she had never been camping before. The only thing Aya had insisted on bringing was her new sketchbook that Gaara had gotten her for her birthday a month ago.

The two girls left the next morning. Temari led the way to a forest. The wind mistress found herself amused by Aya's reaction to the area. Aya had grown up in the desert and had never seen anything else. Now she was seeing huge trees that were so tall she couldn't see the top of them. The trunks were so big that four men could stand in a circle around them and would just barely touch each other's fingers. And things were green rather than brown, from the leaves on the trees to the grass beneath their feet. There were flowers of all colors and animals that Aya had never seen before. As usual when something grabbed her attention, Aya wanted to do nothing but sketch.

The two girls set up camp and settled down to rest. Aya pulled out her sketch pad and got to work. Temari watched her for a moment before laying down to take a nap. A comfortable silence fell over them for a little while. Aya eventually broke it with a question.

"What lands are these by the way? There aren't any forests in the Land of Wind is there?"

"No. We are a desert nation. The land we're in right now is the Land of Fire."

"Are we allowed to be here?"

"Yes. I got permission from the hokage of the leaf village before I even ask you to come."

The next week was spent in peace as the two of them relaxed together. Temari slowly began to train again. Aya took care of the camp. She woke up and made breakfast. After that, Temari would leave to train while Aya found a good spot to sketch. She ended up sketching a lake while sitting on the dock. As usual, she was absorbed in her work. She didn't notice the figure that stepped out of the forest behind her or that it walked up to her.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

When it spoke, she jumped, dropping her sketchbook in the process. Suddenly she felt ice cold and wet. It took her a moment to realize that she had fallen into the lake. The water was cold and she suddenly felt like she weighted a ton. Instinctively, she opened her mouth to cry out but got a mouth full of water instead.

Growing up in the desert had many advantages. There wasn't any cold winters. The night sky over the desert was somehow always more beautiful than anywhere else. If you saw an animal, you didn't have to wonder if it was dangerous. Anything that survived the desert was dangerous. However, living in the desert had one major disadvantage that Aya was just discovering. It was hard to learn how to swim when there was no large bodies of water near you. When Aya fell into the lake, she sank like a stone. She managed to push herself to the surface long enough to take a breath of air before sinking yet again. This repeated two more times before Aya's legs wouldn't push her up anymore. She was too tired and oxygen deprived. Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her up. Whoever had her pulled her up and made her cough up all the water she had swallowed. Aya lay there trembling for a moment as the fear began to subside. Finally she pushed herself up to look at her savior.

He wasn't more than a year older than she was. His hair was crow's wing black and his eyes were deep onyx. He wore black clothes with a symbol of a red and white fan on the back. She remembered his grip on her and knew he was strong. This made her search for a village headband but she found none. Maybe he just likes to work out, she thought absently as she watched him sit up. He was handsome. Even more so that Hajime. There was an air of anger and bitterness about him that reminded Aya of how Gaara use to be. Aya wondered what happened to this boy to make him the way he was.

He gazed at her giving her an even more through examination that she gave him. Aya knew what he would see. Others told her often enough. He would see a girl with long dark hair and bangs that fell to just above her blue-green eyes. Today she wore a blue outfit that looked just like Temari's clothes. Like most of her clothes, these had many different colored paint splatters all over them. Right now, she would look soaking wet since she had just been pulled out of the lake. He would assume she was fragile because of her size and build. Considering he had just saved her from drowning, Aya couldn't blame him for the assumption.

Aya gave him a warm smile, "Thank you for saving me."

He shrugged and stood up. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Camping with a friend of mine. I've never been so she thought it would be fun to take me."

"Then where is she?"

"Training. Unlike me, she's a shinobi of our village. This trip serves two purposes for her. It's a nice vacation from missions and she can train without being bothered."

"Why did you come then?"

"Because I've never been here before. It's a nice change from the desert."

"You're from Suna," he said suddenly. She saw suspicion in his eyes. "You shouldn't be in the Land of Fire."

"Temari, that's my friend, said that we had permission from the hokage. Apparently Konoha and Suna are getting along now." Aya tilted her head, "Why do you care anyway? You're not a shinobi. At least, you don't have the headband."

He looked away, "That's none of your business."

She shrugged, "Have it your way." Aya looked around and let out a sigh of relief. Her sketchbook was laying at the end of the dock. At least she dropped it before falling into the water. She pushed herself up only to find that her muscles did not want to support her just then. Instead she fell back down. Aya didn't try to stand again. She decided it would probably be best if she just didn't move until she had a chance to rest.

The boy was still watching her. Suddenly he asked, "Do you always take near death experiences so well?"

Aya thought about it for a moment then shrugged, "I don't know. I've only had two of them."

"What was the other one?" now he sounded curious.

Aya, being a friendly and talkative girl, answered him without hesitation, "I nearly fell off a cliff last year. Oddly enough it happened the same way. Someone walked up behind me while I was sketching and scared me half to death. I jumped forward which happened to lead off of the cliff I had been sitting on."

He shook his head at her, "You should pay more attention to your surroundings."

"Why? I'm not a shinobi. No one's going to fight me."

The boy seemed unconvinced but said nothing else about her awareness. "You never answered my question."

"What question?"

"Who are you?"

"Oh, that question. My name is Ayame Hayashi. Everyone just calls me Aya."

The boy nodded and was about to leave. He seemed to think of something and turned back to her. "Have you received any news from Konoha?"

She shrugged, "Nothing new really. They're still looking for a missing nin named Sasuke Uchiha. Apparently he ran off to join the bad guy." Aya frowned, "The idiot."

"Why do you say that?" he demanded. "You don't know why he left."

"No but I don't have to. It's still wrong and idiotic to betray your friends. He had it made in Konoha. There were people who loved and cared about him. He had a home and important work. He was strong. Even Gaara respected his strength and that's saying something. Still, he gave it all up and betrayed those that loved him. What reason could possibly make that okay? What on earth could excuse that?"

The boy looked away and seemed to be angry at something. "You don't understand."

"Really? And you do? Tell me, would you do what he did? Would you hurt the people who matter to you?"

"I've heard of Sasuke," the boy replied with anger in every word as he glared at her. "His entire clan was slaughtered by his older brother. Now he wants to avenge them. Orochimaru can give him the strength to do so. Do you still think he was wrong?"

"Yes," was Aya's simple reply.

"Why?"

"He who fights monsters must take care lest he become the monster," Aya replied quoting a saying her mother use to tell her.

He looked confused, "What?"

"Sasuke is becoming the very thing he hunts by going after revenge at all costs. He's turning into his brother."

"The ends justifies the means," the boy snapped.

She tilted her head, "Does it? What will Sasuke do when he catches his brother and avenges his clan? There'll be nothing left for him. He'll be alone. Then one day he'll look in the mirror and see his brother's eyes looking back at him."

The boy inhaled sharply then turned and stalked off. Aya watched him go and wondered something. Eventually she shrugged it off and pushed herself up again. This time she was able to stay on her feet. She retrieved her sketchbook and returned to the camp she and Temari had set up. Aya wanted to change out of her wet clothes. Part of her wondered if she would ever see the boy again. She owed him for saving her life after all. It would be nice to repay him. From the way he stomped off she didn't think he would come around again. She wasn't even sure why he had been in the area in the first place. He was far from Omogakure after all.

Temari returned a few minutes later. She was starving. Aya made them lunch and decided not to tell her about the events at the lake. It was too late for Temari to do anything about them anyway. She had just finished making lunch when a two people walked up to them. Temari smiled and greeted them warmly then introduced everyone to Aya.

"These are friends of mine from Konoha. The jonin is Kakashi..." A man with silver hair that spicked straight up waved. His headband covered one of his eyes and the other gazed at Aya with a warm smile. "...and the girl is Sakura, she's a medic..." The girl with shoulder length pink hair and happy green eyes greeted Aya cheerfully.

"Hello everyone. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard about you from Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara."

"We haven't heard about you yet," Sakura replied. "Mind if we join you?"

"Not at all," Aya motioned for them to sit. She watched Sakura carefully. Temari had mentioned that the one most effected by Sasuke's desertion was the young medic. The girl seemed happy enough. "So brings you out here?"

"We're looking for Sasuke," Sakura replied. "If we find him before he breaks any more laws the Hokage said that she's let him come back with only a probation period." The girl's eyes suddenly held sadness, "Besides, we miss him."

----------_With the boy who saved Aya (A/N: I know you probably guessed who he is but I'm not confirming yet.)_----------

He was pissed. How could that girl say that? She didn't understand. Nobody could understand what he felt. No one had lost everyone in one night because the person who was suppose to care the most took it all on a whim. That girl didn't know anything. So why did what she say bother him so much? Sasuke raked his fingers through his hair as he forced himself to calm down. Anger would do him no good right now. He had to think calmly and rationally.

To think that he could be training right now. But nooooo. He just had to get restless and volunteer to go on a patrol mission. Then he had to check on all of Orochimaru's many hiding places and research labs. To his surprise some had been inside the Land of Fire. Hence how he found himself here. As a result he had ended up meeting a girl who threw everything he had done back in his face. It was his own fault for asking her. He could have kept his mouth shut and just left. But again, noooo. He just had to ask.

He suddenly sensed a familiar chakra and carefully masked his own. He moved quickly and quietly through the forest until he could see the four people eating lunch. One was the girl that he had met by the lake. Beside her sat a sand shinobi. Must be the Temari girl Aya mention, he thought. The other two were very familiar. Kakashi and Sakura were explaining the reason they were there. Would they ever give up, he wondered absently. The boy turned and was going to leave but something stopped him. He wasn't sure what it was and he never would be. Later, he would be grateful for whatever it was.

"What are you going to do if Sasuke doesn't want to come back?" Temari asked curiously. "You won't be able to force him to stay."

"I know. We hope that he'd change his mind. I mean we're just as strong as Orochimaru, damn it," Sakura said heatedly. "We can help him get his revenge."

Aya tilted her head, "I feel like I missed something. Revenge for what?"

Kakashi told Aya Sasuke's story. Sakura stood suddenly exploded, "How could he do this to us? How could he do to us what Itachi did to him? He nearly kills Naruto and joins our enemy. Now we have to hunt him down, and if we get lucky we might not be forced to kill him."

"Maybe he thinks he's along," Aya said quietly.

Everyone looked at her in surprise. Kakashi tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"Well, before the chunin exams, Gaara thought he was alone. He would never asked for help. He probably never even thought to ask for help," Aya explained. "Sasuke was probably the same. It probably never occurred to him to ask for help. He expects to get his revenge alone because he's been alone since he was a child."

"I don't see how come he wouldn't. We were a team. What did he think we were going to do? Just stand there," Sakura demanded.

"He probably didn't think about it at all," Temari replied. "Gaara just never considered getting help at all. Sasuke was probably the same."

Sakura let out a sigh, "I wish he had. Then maybe he would still be home. We miss him. Sasuke...I thought he was my friend at least but...I guess not."

Aya watched Sakura for a moment then said, "I wish I could help but...I'm afraid I can't. Maybe you were his friend. You never know what people like Gaara or Sasuke are thinking. They keep all their thoughts and emotions bottled up inside. It's very unhealthy to do that but they don't seem to care."

Sakura nodded in agreement, "I just wish he would have trusted us. We could have helped. He didn't have to do it alone. I would have done anything to help him. He didn't even have to ask. All he had to do was say he needed help. Me and Naruto would have bent over backwards to help Sasuke."

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Aya said with sadness in her voice.

"You sound like you need a vacation," Temari told Sakura.

The Konoha medic nodded, "You have no idea. I've been training really hard with Lady Tsunade. She's taught me a lot about being a medic and how to fight. But it's hard to train day in and day out all the time. I want a life too. I guess I'm just being greedy though. Naruto and Sasuke never complained about training all the time."

"They're boys. That's the kind of thing they find fun," Temari replied with a shrug. "We need a break once in a while though. That's why I'm camping like this. It gets me away from those that want to send me on missions all the time. Now at least I can get some rest when I'm not training."

Aya smiled, "I don't have to worry about that. I'm not a shinobi."

Both Sakura and Temari gave the civilian artist mock glares. Kakashi chuckled a little. The jonin looked around carefully without appearing too. Someone was watching them. He knew it. If only he could locate the person. There. In the trees. Someone was hiding very carefully. Kakashi didn't move but kept an eye on the spot the person was hiding in. There was no reason to bring the spy out into the open. He would hear nothing important here.

The group talked until sunset. Everyone settled down to sleep except for Sakura. Instead she went for a walk out into the woods. She found the lake that Aya had been sketching earlier that day. The medic liked Ayame Hayashi. The girl had an irresistible personality that made it impossible not to like her. Something about the energy that seem to vibrate around her and the warm look in those blue-green eyes made Sakura feel like smiling. That was odd since she hadn't felt like smiling much in the last year. Sakura's eyes got a sad look in them as she remembered why she didn't feel like smiling very much anymore.

She missed Him. Sakura didn't talk about Him anymore because no one would understand. No one knew what she felt inside. When she was younger, she thought she loved Him. Then they had been places on the same genin team. She learned that what she felt for him before that was just a crush because she learned what love really was when she fell in love with Him. The more she learned about Him the stronger her feelings became until she felt like she would burst from the strength of them. She would so anything for Him. Sakura knew she would give up her life and her happiness for Him.

"Why?" she whispered at the uncaring sky. She refused to cry. The time for tears was over. Now was the time for training. She would work hard to prove to Him that she was strong. She would prove that he had been wrong to leave Konoha. "I will," she said with conviction. "I'm through crying and whining. I will be strong and I will not give up. Do you hear me, Sasuke-kun?" She didn't know why she was asking him that. She knew he couldn't hear her wherever he was but she couldn't help herself. "You'll see. I can be strong like you and Naruto. When you do, maybe you'll come home."

"Sakura," a male voice called behind her.

She stiffened and turned slowly. Her eyes widened in surprise and a whirlwind of emotions filled her. She said his name in a disbelieving whisper, "Sasuke-kun."

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That's it for now. I'll get the next chapter up asap. Please send me a review.


	8. The Error of His Ways

Here it is. Finally. Sorry it took longer than expected. I was very busy. It doesn't help that the end of this chapter is a fight scene and I'm not very good at those (at least I don't think I am. Feel free to disagree if you want). Anyway, I'll warn you now that I will not be updating again this week (I don't plan on it anyway) because I have several tests so I have to study...(yuck)...I'll apologize ahead of time.

Disclaimer: (sulks) i don't own Naruto.

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Ch. 8: The Error of His Ways**

"Hello, Sakura."

She still couldn't believe what she was seeing. There he was. They were just talking about him and now there he was. It just didn't seem real. Her eyes filled with pain. That's it. This was just another dream. A dream that he had seen that he was wrong and was coming home now. She had many of them in the last year. This must just be yet another torture session brought on by her subconscious. She gave a weak smile, "Hello, Sasuke-kun. This isn't real. I know it isn't. You're not really here."

He stepped forward instinctively. The pain in her eyes cut into him and caused more damage that a hundred kunai. Sakura stepped back with a shake of her head. "Don't touch me, Sasuke. I couldn't stand it. These dreams always end the same. You reach out and just when you touch me I wake up. I can't stand it anymore. So please...don't touch me."

"This isn't a dream, Sakura."

"Yes it is. That's the only way I could be talking to you right now. Besides, you only care in my dreams. In real life you wouldn't be looking at me like that. Like you're hurting for me. It's your fault really. I love you. I can't stop loving you and it's tearing me to pieces." She gave a humorless chuckle, "I don't say that in real life anymore. No one would understand. Well, no one except Naruto. He still sees you as his brother so he understands."

Sasuke took another step forward, "Sakura..."

"No. Don't say it. Don't say you were wrong and that you're sorry. Don't tell me that you're coming back. I don't want to hear it anymore. I always wake up and discover it was all a dream. No more. I can't take anymore."

As much as Sasuke wanted to remain cold and aloof, he couldn't. As much as he wanted to respect her wishes and not touch her, he couldn't. As much as he wanted to believe this wasn't his fault, he couldn't. As much as he wanted to believe he didn't care...he couldn't. He moved forward quickly and pulled her into his arms.

At first she resisted but that didn't last for more than a second. Sakura collapsed into his arms with tears falling down her face, and waited to wake up. Seconds passed, then minutes. Why wasn't she waking up? Why was he still there? This should be a dream. This can't be real. The arms around her tightened and she felt his breath against her ear as he whispered to her.

"Sakura, this isn't a dream. I'm really here and talking to you. I don't know why I called out to you. I didn't intend to. I was just going to leave without letting you know I had ever been here. Something wouldn't let me. I couldn't walk away from you again."

"Sasuke-kun..."

"Let me finish," he ordered. Sasuke was afraid that if he didn't finish now he wouldn't be able to at all. He also didn't want to give Sakura the opportunity to decide not to listen anymore. "I listened to you guys talking earlier. I never considered that you and Naruto would help me. I'm sorry that it hurt you but I've been alone all my life. Some part of me couldn't accept that had changed." He paused. This was the most he had said in years and it was hard to fight the impulse to stay quiet. She needed to hear this and he needed to say it. "Maybe I was wrong but I did what I thought I had to do at the time."

When she felt him start to pull away, Sakura tightened her own grip on him. "No, don't go. Please don't leave again," she begged. Sakura was fully prepared to fight him this time. She wasn't going to just let him walk away. Not this time.

"I'm not. I wanted to see your face," he told her.

Sakura allowed him to pull back enough to see her. "Sasuke-kun, please come home. You don't have to stay with Orochimaru. Lady Tsunade said that if you came home now you would only get a years probation. No missions during that time and no weapons. That's it. She's willing to take into consideration that Orochimaru manipulated your feelings and thoughts to convince you that joining him was the only way. It's not Sasuke-kun. We can help you. Team 7 is on your side if you'll just let us."

His dark eyes met Sakura's green ones. He had been feeling restless for the last year. No matter what he did he always felt like there was someplace he had to be. Since he had seen Sakura the feeling began to fade. Now that he was talking to her and holding her the feeling was gone completely. The truth was he needed Sakura. He hadn't wanted to admit that but there was no denying it anymore. Some part of him just didn't function right without her. It made him feel weak to need her but what could he do? The truth wouldn't change so he had only two options: ignore it or live with it. Ignoring it hadn't worked so it was time to try living with it.

"Alright. I'll come home."

Sakura smiled brilliantly then suddenly looked upset. "This can't be real. I have to be dreaming."

"It's not a dream, Sakura," said a new voice from the edge of the forest. "If it is we're sharing it then."

Sakura glanced back at Kakashi. The jonin was smiling and looked at Sasuke, "Hello, Sasuke. Glad you could join us."

"Then that means that..." Sakura looked back at Sasuke and threw herself into his arms, "Thank god. Thank god. Sasuke-kun, it's really you. You're really coming home."

Sasuke felt something in him lift and a knot in his stomach loosen. He was going home. How odd. He didn't even feel bad about it either. He expected to feel some reservations. Maybe even doubt that going back was the right choice but that wasn't the case. He felt...relieved.

"I thought that was you." He looked up and saw Aya and Temari walking towards him. Aya was smiling and continued to speak, "When you pulled me out of the lake, I thought that you had to be Sasuke Uchiha."

"You've seen him before?" Temari demanded.

"Yeah. He startled me and I fell into the lake. Since I can't swim, I nearly drowned. Lucky for me he jumped in and saved me. I didn't say anything because there was nothing that could be done about it. I thought he left the area after I said something to annoy him."

"What made you think I was Sasuke?" he asked curiously.

"The way you reacted to my opinions about what you did. You were taking them so personally that you either had to be Sasuke or someone close to him. I've heard descriptions of you so I made and educated guess." Aya smiled, "I'm glad things turned out right."

"Me too," Sakura agreed. "Oh, we have to go home now. I want to get him back before he can change his mind."

Aya laughed, "We figured you'd need to go back soon. Why don't we sleep the rest of the night and leave in the morning. Temari said that we would go back with you too." Aya suddenly seemed excited, "I'll get to see Konoha."

"Sound like a plan," Sakura agreed. She grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled him back to the camp. He wasn't leaving her sight until they were safely back in Konoha.

They slept the rest of the night and headed out first thing in the morning. Sasuke was still amazed that this was happening. How had he agreed to this? He hadn't intended to. Hell, he hadn't even intended to talk to Sakura at all. Yet here he was, walking with them back to the place he had run from. Again, how hat that happened? What was even more surprising was that he didn't regret it. Some part of him reeled at that. He didn't regret deciding to go home. It felt like the right choice. Just a year ago he thought that staying in Konoha was wrong. Staying there would make him weak. Amazing how much changes in a year.

Sakura caught him up on all the news and gossip of Konoha. He listened and found himself actually enjoying himself. Again, how shocking. He, Sasuke Uchiha, was capable of enjoying himself. He still couldn't believe it. More surprising yet was that he actually allowed his mouth to curve just a little. It was small...okay it was very small, but it was still a smile. For him that was monumental. He didn't smile. Smirk, sure. Grin, yeah. But smile, never. His strength may not increase as quickly in Konoha as it would in the Sound Village, but maybe that wasn't as important. Maybe it was better to have a little happiness than quick strength.

His reception in Konoha was expected. Sasuke ignored the cold glares and wary glances. He chose not to hear the whispers that started even before he got out of earshot. Sakura and Kakashi flanked him on either side to show their support. To his surprise the other members of Rookie 9 fell into step behind them as they walked through the village. By the time they reached the Hokage's office, every member of Rookie 9 was standing around Sasuke to show that they supported his return. Each made a point of welcoming him back. Once that was done, Aya was introduced to everyone, who was more than happy to meet everyone. Everything fell silent when Shizune came out.

"Lady Tsunade is ready to see Sasuke now."

Sasuke stood and followed her into the Hokage's office. Rookie 9 began to pace. Aya sat and pulled out her sketch book. She wanted to get a sketch of everyone. She had an idea for a painting, but if she was going to use it she would need a sketch of all these people. It would also keep her occupied until the hokage was done with Sasuke. Keeping busy would keep her from worrying too much like the others were.

What felt like hours passed before Sasuke came back out. Everyone crowded him with question about what had happened. Sasuke ignored them as she searched the crowd until he saw the pink haired medic. When he answered the questions, he spoke directly to her. "She gave me a year of probation. I turned in all my weapons and I'm not allowed to go on any missions until the year is up. I was also required to give all her all the information I have on Orochimaru."

"Is that a problem?" Kakashi asked.

"No. I gave the information to her while I was in there."

"Do you know where he is?" Sakura asked him.

"Yes. I told her. She said that she's putting Shikamaru in charge of the mission to kill him." Sasuke glanced at the lazy ninja, "She wants to see you now."

"Oh, man. This is such a drag," Shikamaru grumbled as he walked into the hokage's office. Again everyone waited. They wanted to know who would be going on this mission and when. Shikamaru came out and looked at Sasuke, "First of all, you're coming on this one."

"I'm on probation."

"I know but Lady Tsunade agreed that you would be a big help since you know that area and the fighters. Orochimaru is too smart and powerful to risk not having your knowledge with us. You come along with the rest of Rookie 9 and several jonin." He turned to Temari and Aya, "I was told to ask if Suna would like to give assistance."

"Of course we would," Temari replied. "We owe Orochimaru a thing or two as well. I'll return to Suna right now and get a team. Gaara and Kankuro will probably come."

"That's great. Gaara is a powerful fighter and Kankuro is one of your best." Shikamaru considered for a moment then said, "We'll wait until you arrive with the team to begin planning."

Aya let out a sigh. She was going to spend several sleepless nights worrying about her friends now. Oh well. Nothing she could do about it now. She stayed in Konoha so that Temari could travel more quickly. Several days later Temari returned with Gaara, Kankuro, Baki, and several other sand shinobi. The plans were made and the group of fighters headed out. Aya said good bye to all her friends and decided she would spend the next several days painting…since she wouldn't be sleeping anyway. She would bee too worried to sleep. So she painted using her sketched as references and waited for her friends to return.

----------_With Shikamaru and others_----------

They were ready. Sasuke drew a very detailed map and showed everyone where Orochimaru and all of his shinobi would be for the night. Since Orochimaru didn't know that Sasuke had rejoined Konoha he would go in first and make sure that there wasn't anything unexpected inside. When the sound shinobi were asleep, he would open the gates for the leaf and sand shinobi. They would quietly overrun the village. The shinobi of Otogakure wouldn't know what hit them.

"Be careful, Sasuke-kun," Sakura pleaded. "I just got you back. I don't want to lose you again."

He reached up and she felt his fingers brush her cheek before he turned and left. She understood. That was an 'I'll be careful'. Sasuke rarely said what he felt. Instead his feelings and thoughts were in his actions not his words. She forced herself to relax and walk over to Shikamaru to wait for Sasuke to open the gates to Otogakure.

Sasuke walked into the gates of the sound village. Some of the shinobi greeted him but he ignored them. For reasons he couldn't explain, he hadn't gotten close to anyone here. At least, not like he had been with Naruto and Sakura. There were occasions when he had been friendly but more often than not he was cold and distant. Perhaps it was because he had known he wouldn't stay. Maybe some part of him knew that he would be returning to Konoha and the sound shinobi would become his enemies.

He wove his way through the streets until he reached Orochimaru's office. The snake spent most of his time in there planning his next attack on Konoha or working on some experiment. Orochimaru looked up when the Uchiha entered the room. Orochimaru had long oily black hair and yellow eyes that held something terrifying in their depths.

"Welcome back, Sasuke. I trust my other holdings are doing fine."

"Yes."

"Did you get rid of the restlessness?"

"Yes."

"Good. You're training will begin again in the morning then. Better rest up."

Sasuke turned and walked out. He had seen Kabuto in there as well, just where Sasuke expected him to be. After a brief check through the rest of the village he headed back to the gate. After a brief conversation with the current on duty guard, Sasuke took over the guard post. He waited yet another hour to ensure all was quiet before opening the gate. The Konoha and Suna teams walked in without making a sound. Sasuke shut the gate. Hinata and Ino were to watch the gate and make sure no one escaped. Gaara and Sasuke were partners for this particular mission. They're target was Orochimaru. They were also going to save him for last. The teams split up to get to work. Quietly as possible, so as not to set off any alarms, they incapacitated or killed the sound shinobi. Because they sacrificed time for quiet the process was painstakingly slow. After hours they took down all of the underlings that were asleep and more than half of the ones that were awake. They were finally ready to go after Orochimaru.

Sasuke and Gaara stayed together. There would be more shinobi inside the building the snake was in. Chances were they would be his strongest fighters. Gaara and Sasuke were to ignore them all. They're goal was Orochimaru. So they rushed through the building without pause. When a sound shinobi tried to get in their way, one of the other leaf or sand shinobi engaged them in battle. Kakashi took Kabuto personally. The copy ninja wanted to ensure that Orochimaru's right hand man didn't rush off to help his master.

By the time they reached Orochimaru's office, they were alone and he was ready for them. Orochimaru had heard the sounds of battle in the building and he used the warning to prepare. He smirked when he saw Gaara and Sasuke rush into the room.

"Well, if it isn't Sabaku no Gaara. I will get to test my skill against a jinchuriki." Those snake eyes moved to Sasuke. Orochimaru sneered, "So you sided with them after all Sasuke. And here I thought I could trust you."

Sasuke didn't bother replying. Orochimaru could never understand why he returned to Konoha. The village was Sasuke's home, so where else could he go? Sure he had come here but that was before he saw the error of his ways. That was before Sakura had pulled at him. That was before he had seen all of his friends were willing to forgive him even after all he had done to them. Konoha was where he belonged.

Gaara also didn't reply. Why bother? The snake wouldn't listen anyway. Gaara just took a fighting stance and prepared for an attack. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Sasuke do the same. The two shinobi waited a beat to be sure that they were both ready and then attacked. Orochimaru blocked with little effort. This didn't surprise either Gaara or Sasuke. The snake was a legendary sannin after all. Beating him wasn't supposed to be easy. Gaara and Sasuke didn't worry too much just yet. They were both powerful fighters themselves. Between the two of them they should be able to win even if it took all their strength to do it.

So they fought with all they had. Gaara put all he had into manipulating his sand as he tried to trap Orochimaru. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated and his brain was in overdrive trying to find an opening in Orochimaru's defenses. Both hoped that one of them would be able to gain some sort of advantage even if it was a small one. Nothing seemed to be working. Orochimaru started toying with them with his jutsus and words. The boys were aware of this and forced themselves not to get angry. Anger wouldn't help them. It would only make them careless. Controlling their anger just got more and more difficult with Orochimaru taunting them.

The fight seemed to last for hours before Orochimaru knocked them both down at once. The two boys glared at him as they tried to catch their breath. There had to be a way to win damn it. They just had to find it. Suddenly someone showed up and landed a punch on the side of Orochimaru's head. That one punch knocked him down and forced him to slide against the ground for several yards. Sasuke and Gaara looked at Sakura as she stood where Orochimaru had been.

She smiled at them, "It looked like you could use another hand."

The two boys nodded and stood up. They didn't like it but she was right. They needed help. The three of them turned to Orochimaru and all of them looked surprised. Orochimaru was already fighting with someone. The snakes opponent was none other than Naruto. The two jumped away from each other and Naruto looked over at his friends.

"Well, are you guys going to just stand there," demanded Naruto with his usual goofy grin. He didn't wait for response. Naruto attacked Orochimaru with all he had.

Once his three friends were over their shock they jumped into the fight. Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance then looked at Gaara. Gaara nodded and jumped away from the fight and watched. Team 7 fought together and their teamwork was flawless. After a few minutes, Gaara saw that Orochimaru was too focused on Team 7 to pay attention to what Gaara was doing. He focused his chakra and waited for the right opportunity.

Team 7 saw that Gaara was ready and knew it was their turn. They had the hardest part of the job. Getting Gaara that opportunity to kill Orochimaru. That wasn't going to be easy. Team 7 doubted that he could be maneuvered to where they wanted him easily. They would try anyway. Sasuke attacked Orochimaru on one side. Naruto from the other. Sakura took care of a third side. Orochimaru blocked their attacks easily as he backed away from the three pronged attack. It would take everything they had in order to win.

Orochimaru knew he would win. Why shouldn't he? He was stronger, faster, and more experienced that the three shinobi fighting him. He saw that they let their guard down briefly and attacked them all at once. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were sent flying. Orochimaru grinned. He had won. His arrogance is what got him killed. He had been so focused on Team 7 that he forgot about one other threat. The ground beneath him shifted and when Orochimaru looked down he saw the sand. He started to used a substitution jutsu but it was too late. The sand closed around him.

Gaara put every ounce of his chakra into moving the sand. It had to be done quickly or Orochimaru would escape. He wouldn't allow that. The snake would die now. With a few gestures the sand encased his enemy and squeezed. He felt and heard the crack of bone as Orochimaru was being crushed. The snake was fighting still but Gaara refused to give in. All he had to do was close his fist. Then it would be over. Easier said than done. Orochimaru was strong and whatever he was doing in there made it hard to crush him. Gaara felt himself running out of chakra and start to waver just a little. Suddenly he felt three people around him. Sasuke and Naruto kept Gaara from falling. Sakura grabbed his hand and, using her chakra to increase her strength, helped him close his fist. Gaara's vision went black.

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That's it for now. Let me know what you thought of it.


	9. Home

Tests are over so I can update now. I finished it this morning and I reread for mistakes. Since I was in a hurry to get the story updated for you guys, i might not have edited as throughly as I could have (it doesn't help that I suck at grammar and spelling). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Ch. 9: Home**

Aya sat back with a sigh. She had been painting non stop for nearly four days. She hadn't even slept or eaten much since Gaara and the rest of the team left for their mission. She was too worried to eat or sleep. Since she wasn't sleeping or eating, she painted. The painting was coming together nicely. It would make a good welcome back home present for Sasuke. He would need it for the same reason Gaara needed the painting she gave him last year. It would remind the Uchiha of what he had here and why he should stay. Although the contents were different. Gaara's painting was made to show him that the world was a beautiful place and worth living in. Sasuke's would be to show him that he wasn't alone anymore. He had a family in the people here.

She stood up to work the kinks out of her muscles. The painter walked over to the window and stared out at the village of Konoha. Tsunade had given her an apartment to stay in while she was in town since no one knew how long the mission would take. Orochimaru wouldn't be an easy target so taking him down could take anywhere from a day to a month. Since Aya wouldn't return to Suna without Gaara, The Hokage decided that Aya might as well have someplace comfortable to live in while she was there.

Aya like the leaf village. The people were nice and seemed to care about one another. Although they did seem to have the same viewpoint on Naruto that the people of Suna had for Gaara. But that was changing here. Naruto's personality apparently made it impossible to hate him for very long. At least, that's what Iruka said. Aya hadn't met Naruto yet. She hoped she could soon. He sounded like an interesting person. She turned back to the painting and got back to work.

As usual, she was so absorbed in the world she was creating that she didn't notice anything else. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Aya looked over her shoulder to see Shizune there. She smiled, "Hello, Shizune."

"I knocked but you didn't answer."

"I'm sorry. When I paint I have a tendency to ignore everything else. Did you want something?"

"The team returned just a few minutes ago. Gaara is in the hospital right now." Before Aya could rush off, Shizune grabbed her arm. "Let me finish. He's fine. He just used too much chakra but he will recover."

Aya relaxed a little, "Oh...Okay. Can you take me to him?"

Shizune nodded and led Aya through the village. It was the third time Aya had walked through Konoha. The first time had been her first day then when they had walked with Sasuke to the hokage's office. The second had been after the team left. She went exploring. Naturally she got lost several times. After that she stayed in the apartment that had been lent to her and painted. She wanted the painting finished before she left the village. Luckily she only had a few more brush strokes and then it would be done.

Shizune led Aya right to Gaara's room. Kankuro and Temari were inside sitting next to Gaara's bed. Gaara was sitting up. It relieved Aya to see that he wasn't unconscious. She walked up to him, "How did it go?"

"I'm not sure," Gaara replied. "I blacked out before the mission was finished."

"Orochimaru is dead," Temari informed them both. "That's what took up so much of Gaara's chakra. It took everything he had to kill the worthless snake."

"I'm just glad you're alright," Aya told them.

"Surprisingly, we didn't lose anyone. Sasuke and Gaara were the only two that we had to carry back. Sasuke is in the room next door," Kankuro said.

Temari nodded, "Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi are with him."

"Naruto's here?" Aya asked.

"Yes. Jiraiya, his trainer, got word of the attack and allowed Naruto to join the fight. He and Sakura helped Sasuke and Gaara fight Orochimaru."

"I hope I get to meet Naruto. I've heard a lot about him." Aya looked at Gaara, "Are you really alright?"

He nodded, "Just a few bruises."

She relaxed a little more. Aya smiled, "I'm going to check on Sasuke then. I'll be right back." Aya walked out of the room and into the one next door. Sasuke was in the same position as Gaara and didn't seem any happier about it than her friend. Sakura and Kakashi were there along with a blond boy. The four of them looked at her as she walked in. Aya smiled warmly.

"I just came from seeing Gaara. I figured I'd come check on Sasuke too. How are you feeling?"

"Tired," he replied simply.

"So articulate," she commented with a grin.

Sasuke's eyes lit with some amusement and he pointed to Naruto, "This is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, that's Aya. She's a civilian from Suna."

The blond boy turned and she saw Naruto for the first time. His blond hair was spiked much like Gaara's. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen that held friendliness and a sense of mischief. He gave her a goofy grin. Aya couldn't help but smile in return. She knew he would make a great friend.

"Hello, Naruto. I've heard a lot about you."

"Sasuke and Sakura mentioned you once too. They said that you were Gaara's friend."

She nodded, "I at least hope I am. Gaara hasn't said one way or the other."

"Yeah, he doesn't talk about stuff like that much," Naruto agreed.

The four of them talked for a while as Aya got to know Naruto a little more. The goofy grin suited him perfectly. He had a fun loving nature and she was willing to be he never let himself be miserable for very long. He seemed determined to be strong and happy. She liked him. He was a good person at heart. She also wanted to paint that goofy smile. From what she heard from others, that goofy smile had to hide many years of suffering. It would be interesting to see what it would look like on canvas.

"Ummm, Naruto-kun?"

Everyone looked back to see Hinata standing in the doorway. Aya saw it. In the shy girl's eyes. Hinata liked Naruto...a lot. Aya glanced at Naruto and saw that he was absolutely clueless. It was amusing. Poor Hinata wouldn't be able to tell Naruto how she felt. She was too shy, especially around him. Naruto apparently had no idea how to tell when someone was in love with him, unless someone hit him over the head with the information.

"What is it, Hinata?" he asked her cheerfully.

"Master Jiraiya said to tell you to hurry up. You still have training to complete."

"Right." He turned back to the others, "I better go. Jiraiya wants to make sure that if the Akatsuki attack me I'll be ready for them."

Sakura gave him a hug, "Be careful, Naruto."

"I will. Sasuke, you better still be here when I get back, or I'll hunt you down and make you miserable," Naruto informed his friend.

Sasuke smirked, "If you could."

Naruto glared, "That's it, Sasuke. I'll show you how strong I am."

Sasuke started to get up. He had missed the fighting matches with Naruto. However Sakura wasn't going to let it happen. She pushed Sasuke back onto the bed and ordered Naruto to go. The two boys sulked just a little, though Sasuke did his sulking mentally where no one could see him. Naruto said one last good bye and headed out. Aya also left and returned to Gaara. She stayed there until dark when Gaara ordered her to go get some sleep. Aya didn't argue mostly because she was too tired.

The next morning, she finished the painting. Since she got to see Naruto, she added on last thing to the painting. Once it was finished she stepped back to take a look. It was perfect. She smiled as she wrapped it up to take to the hospital with her. Aya saw Sakura outside and grinned. "Good morning, Sakura. What are you doing out here? I thought you'd be at the hospital with Sasuke."

"I was on my way. I realized that you would want to go see Gaara so I was coming to get you. That way you wouldn't get lost between here and there."

"You've been talking to Temari and Kankuro, haven't you?" Aya asked. It wasn't like Sakura could have figured out that Aya had a habit of getting lost already. She hadn't been here when Aya got lost in the village. That meant someone told her. Since Gaara wasn't the talkative time she knew it had to be Temari and Kankuro.

"Kankuro told me about your habit of getting lost. He said that you could get lost in your own home."

Aya laughed, "He might be right. Thank you. I'd hate to get lost today. I have a present for Sasuke and I can't wait to see what he thinks."

"Is that what the painting is?"

The painter nodded, "Yup. Let's go."

The two of them walked to the hospital. Aya followed Sakura to Sasuke's room. The Uchiha was up and moving today, much to the nurses annoyance. Sasuke was not the type to stay in bed longer than he had to. Still he wasn't ready to move around too much. His muscles were screaming at him with every movement. When he saw Sakura and Aya, he sat on the edge of the bed. Sakura was glaring at him.

"You should be resting, Sasuke-kun."

"I am resting. It's not like I went out and sparred with anyone."

Sakura refrained from hitting him. He was in the hospital and still recovering after all. She could hit him after he was better. He'd end up right back in the hospital but that was beside the point. Aya stepped forward before they started to argue more. She set the canvas down and smiled at Sasuke. He couldn't see the painting because she had it covered at the moment. Aya was practically vibrating with excitement so he suspected that it was something she created.

"This is for you, Sasuke. A welcome home present," she told him with excitement.

Aya pulled the cover off of the canvas and the two leaf shinobi got their first look at Aya's handiwork. It was the training grounds where Team 7 trained together for the first time. The three wooden polls stuck out of the ground and the sunlight made everything seem cheerful. White puffy clouds littered the sky and somehow seemed to be moving lazily through the sky. In the clearing stood Rookie 9 in various positions suited to their personality. Shikamaru was laying on the ground staring at the clouds. Ino was knelt next to him poking his shoulder to pester him. Choji watched them with hidden amusement as he ate his chips. Hinata stood next to one of the wooden polls watching Naruto with a soft smile. Kiba was running across the clearing with Akamaru at his side. Shino stood at the edge of the forest examining something on the ground no one could see, probably a bug. She even put Kakashi in it. He was sitting at the base of a tree reading his favorite book. Front and center of the painting stood Sasuke with Sakura on one side and Naruto on the other. Naruto had that goofy grin on his face as he punched Sasuke's arm gently. Sakura had a warm smile on her face as she watched the two of them. Sasuke seemed arrogant, with the smirk on his face, but something was off. It took a moment for them to figure out what it was. He didn't seem cold and distant in the painting. Sasuke's eyes held an unfamiliar warmth as he gave Naruto a mock glare.

"Wow, Aya," Sakura whispered. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks. I worked on it while you guys were gone." She smiled, "Well, what do you think, Sasuke?"

He could only stare. Aya was amazed by how similar his reaction was to Gaara's. Sasuke seemed so shocked and surprised by what he was seeing. Gaara had once said that Sasuke and him were very similar in personality. She could see now that he had been correct. Why did that not surprise her? Gaara's experiences in life gave him a fine skill for seeing people for what they really were. Well, he was good at that with everyone but himself. He still considered himself a monster even after a year of changing.

Sasuke finally stood to get a closer look at the painting. He felt something in him loosen as he stared the people he had known all his life. There was an air of friendliness and warmth in the painting. As if everyone in it was one big family. They surrounded Sasuke as if saying, 'Come here and be a part of our family, Sasuke. We've been waiting for you.' That call was irresistible to him. He found himself touching the faces of his closes friends.

"Say something, Sasuke. You're driving me nuts here," Aya demanded.

He finally managed to make himself speak and even sounded relatively calm, "It's...good, Aya. You're very skilled."

She grinned, "I'm so happy. I figured it would be perfect for you because it'll be a great reminder. This way if you ever think about leaving again you can just look at it and see why you shouldn't. It's called '_Home and Family_'."

He nodded and tried to speak casually past the lump in his throat. "Thanks."

Aya grinned, "No problem. Now I'm going to see Gaara. He should be moving if you are." She walked out of the room humming a cheerful tune and a bounce to her step. She couldn't wait to see Gaara.

Once she was gone, Sakura looked over at Sasuke, "You really like the painting don't you?"

Sasuke nodded as he looked at the painting then at Sakura. "Aya is very good."

"Yes, she is. I didn't realize how good until now. Then again, I hadn't even had a chance to see one of her sketches before, let alone a painting. She also had a knack for painting exactly what other people want to see." Sakura looked at the painting, "What will you do with it?"

"I'm going to return to the Uchiha compound. I let my anger and pain drive me away from it. It's time I go back. I think I'll hang it there since it will be my home now."

Sakura smiled, "I'm glad."

Meanwhile, Aya had just walked into Gaara's room. Like Sasuke, he was up and moving against doctor's orders. She shook her head at the stubbornness of men and greeted Gaara cheerfully, "Hello, Gaara. How are you feeling today?"

"Fine."

"That's good. Temari said that we won't be able to go home until you recover."

"I've recovered."

Aya restrained herself from taping one of his many bruises to remind him that was still injured. What was it with shinobi that they always had to be able to fight? She would never understand it. Then again, she wasn't a shinobi for a reason. Aya preferred spending her time painting and sketching to training and fighting. Her clan had accepted this with some relief. Her habit of getting lost had worried them just a little. If she could get that lost in her own village what would happen when she went into enemy territory? They hadn't wanted to think about. Hence how she managed to stay a civilian despite her clan being one of the top shinobi clan's in Suna.

"If you say so but I'm not convinced," Aya told Gaara.

He glanced at her and flashed a brief smirk. "The bruises aren't serious. I wasn't nearly as injured as Sasuke and Naruto. My sand protected me."

"But you were still injured. Would it kill you to cut yourself some slack and take a break?" she demanded.

"I suppose not."

"Good." She looked at the time and realized the morning was gone. Her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten breakfast this morning. "Let's go eat lunch. I haven't had any yet and Naruto said I should try the ramen place."

"Naruto left again, right?" Gaara asked as they left the room.

She nodded, "Yes. Yesterday afternoon. He said that his trainer, Jiraiya, wants him ready when the Akatsuki attack him again."

Gaara didn't respond. There wasn't anything to say really. Naruto wasn't the only one who had to be ready. The Akatsuki were trying to gather all of the tailed beasts and he hadn't forgotten the one of them was in him. Gaara chose not to tell Aya this. She worried enough as it was. He didn't want to think about how much she would worry if she knew that Naruto wasn't the only one the Akatsuki wanted.

They met Temari and Kankuro at the ramen shop along with Rookie 9. Sasuke had convinced Sakura that he was well enough to leave the hospital and was listening to everyone talk around him. Sakura sat next to him while talking to everyone. Aya noticed that she kept glancing at Sasuke as if to make sure he was still there. It would probably take weeks for Sakura to convince herself that Sasuke wasn't going anywhere. Aya and Gaara were greeted cheerfully when they joined the group.

After they ate, Sasuke said that he had to get to work. He had to clean out his clan's compound since no one had been living in it for several years. Sakura glared at him, "Sasuke-kun, if you think for one minute I'm going to let you work when you've just gotten out of the hospital then you had better think again."

The Uchiha met her glare with calm eyes, "It's got to get done, Sakura."

Sakura drew in a breath to begin giving Sasuke a piece of her mind but felt a hand on her shoulder. Aya hadn't wanted things to turn into a fight and with Sakura's temper that was a possibility. She placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder to get her attention then smiled warmly.

"Why don't we help him?" Aya suggested. "Then he won't have to work as hard and it'll get done. It does need to be done if he's going to have a place to sleep tonight, Sakura."

The pink haired medic nodded, "Alright."

The group left and gathered at the Uchiha compound. The place looked like a ghost town. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. Windows were broken and shojis torn apart. It would take a lot of work to make the place inhabitable again. They didn't waste any time. First thing to do was get Sasuke's bedroom cleaned out and repaired. They talked as they worked to pass the time and perhaps make cleaning a little less miserable. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting Sasuke's room ready.

After a week, Temari dubbed Gaara well enough to travel. The sand siblings and Aya were packed and ready to head home. Aya couldn't wait. As much as she loved the friends she made in Konoha, she missed her home. Although she still hated saying good bye. There were promises to visit and write. Aya hugged her friends and waved as her and the sand siblings walked out of the gate.

"I can't wait to get home. I have to tell Dad and Mom everything I've seen. Oh, and I have to tell Hana all about the people I've met," Aya said excitedly.

Temari chuckled, "I'll admit, it was nice to have a break from work. I hope that Hajime waits at least one more day before becoming a pest."

Aya glowered, "Don't mention him. It'll ruin this perfectly good day."

Kankuro laughed, "If the two of you would just stop making your hatred so obvious he wouldn't bother you so much. He seems determined to make you like him."

"Well, I won't. I don't care who he is. As long as he treats Gaara like a monster then I'm not going to like him," Aya snapped.

Gaara felt a little warmth at her defense of him. He shook his head, "What Hajime thinks doesn't bother me."

"Liar," Aya grumbled so that the other's couldn't understand her. She looked up at the blue sky and the thick forest around them. The air was fresh and warm. There was a light breeze making everything seem so pleasant. She smiled, "Who care about Hajime? This is a beautiful day."

"Come on," Kankuro said. "Let's go home."

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That's it for now. I'll try to get the next chapter up asap.

On a side note. I have a problem for those of you who read yu yu hakusho fics and like my writing style. I have an idea for a YYH fic but I'm not sure it's a good one. Before I waste my time writing more than the 2 chapters I have, I would like to have someone read what I've got and tell me if it's a good idea or not. If you're willing please e-mail me and let me know. (my email is by the way).


	10. The 5th Kazekage

Sorry it's taken so long to update. It's the end of the semester crunch so I've had lots and lots of school work to do. Please forgive the slow pace.

Disclaimer: go look at the other chapters cause I won't say it again. (sticks tongue out)

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Ch. 10: The 5****th**** Kazekage**

"We need a new Kazekage and the only person who fits the requirements is Him," one of the council members stated.

"Why in the world would we want to make Him Kazekage?" another demanded. "He's a monster."

"I don't think we have a choice," Baki put in.

"I personally think it's a good thing," Kaito Hayashi said.

"You would. Your daughter is friends with the monster," the elder commented.

"That should tell you that Gaara isn't the monster that you believe him to be. He has friends and he's done a lot during the last two years to serve his village. The only time's he's killed recently has been on the villages behalf. Jonin have even started to request him on their teams. We would be fools not to make him Kazekage," Kaito replied calmly.

Baki nodded his agreement. "And need I remind you that he was instrumental in taking down Orochimaru a year ago. Orochimaru was a wanted criminal and a danger to all of the shinobi nations, including ours."

The council members discussed this for a moment then the elder nodded. "We will discuss this and decide whether he is suitable or not. Kaito, tell the mons...I mean tell Gaara that we will with to meet with him tomorrow with our decision."

Kaito bowed, "Of course, elder."

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Gaara had no idea he was under discussion just then. He was waiting for Aya. In the two years that he had known her, Aya had become his closest friend. Hell, she was his only friend. The rest of the village still felt too nervous around him to consider him a friend.

He turned when someone called his name and saw her coming. Gaara had forced himself to keep his eyes on her face. She had also grown during the last two years. At fifteen, Aya had developed curves in the right places and it was hard to ignore. She was still small with the top of her head barely reached his shoulder. Her size should have made her look fragile but that was countered by the excited and energetic air about her. Her thick, dark hair fell to her mid back in waves. She gazed at him with amazing blue-green eyes that never failed to hold a smile for him. Needless to say, Gaara was starting to realize that his friend was attractive. That might surprise most people, but Gaara wasn't a naïve child that didn't know anything about physical attraction. That didn't mean he couldn't ignore it though and that's just what he was going to do in Aya's case.

Gaara released a mental sigh and shook his head at his own thoughts. Temari was right. He was not going to be able to resist having feelings for Aya that went beyond friendship for very long. Hell, his sister was already convinced that he was in love with Aya. Perhaps Temari was right. How the should he know? He didn't know anything about love. He was still learning about friendship, for crying out loud. How the hell would he know if he was in love or not? He didn't even know what love was.

"Hello, Gaara. Sorry I'm late," Aya greeted him with a warm smile.

"You got lost again."

The smile turned sheepish, "Yeah. Sorry."

He shook his head, "I told you to meet me an hour earlier than I intended to be here so that you would be on time. I've only been waiting for three minutes."

"That was sneaky and underhanded." Aya laughed, "And it worked. Let's go eat dinner. Temari and Kankuro will be waiting for us."

Gaara nodded and led the way. Aya happily fell into step next to him. She examined him out of the corner of her eye. Gaara hadn't changed much in the last year. His red hair spiked all over the place. He still had a calm, emotionless look in his sea foam eyes. She looked up and smiled, though he had gotten taller. He wasn't bad looking either if the reactions of the girls in the village was any indication. Some of them actually flirted with him now. It was amusing to watch, since Gaara probably had no idea what they were doing. If he did know that they were flirting, he showed no reaction.

"Hey guys," Temari said, when they joined them at the restaurant.

"Took you long enough," Kankuro stated by way of greeting.

"Aya got lost again," Gaara informed them.

"What else is new," Kankuro chuckled. He looked at Aya. "We need to get you a map, then maybe you wouldn't get lost all of the time."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "No one asked you for an opinion, Kankuro."

He grinned, "I know but I figured I'd give it to you anyway. Aren't you happy? It's not often I give an opinion for free."

"You can keep it, Kankuro," Aya informed him with a laugh.

"Alright you two. Behave," Temari interjected with a smile. The two of them were always starting another argument. It was very amusing to listen to but right now she had something important to tell Gaara. The looked at her youngest brother and became serious. "I heard from Baki today. He said that the council was going to discuss who would be the next Kazekage today. We all know that you're the only person who meets all the requirements."

Aya tilted her head, "This is a good thing, right? I mean, Gaara wants to be the Kazekage. That's what he's been trying to achieve these last two years."

Gaara nodded, "That was the point of all of this work."

"If they even offer it to you," Temari replied. "They could decide to wait until someone else is qualified."

"There's no one more qualified than Gaara," Aya stated with some irritation. It still annoyed her that some people hated Gaara merely because he had Shukaku living inside of him.

"Thanks for the defense, Aya, but it doesn't really matter," Gaara told them. "If I don't become Kazekage then I'll survive."

"I don't think he should be the Kazekage," a familiar male voice interjected.

Aya glared over at Hajime. "Go away. No one wants your opinion."

He gave her a friendly smile, "Sure they do, Ayame. Everyone liked to hear my opinion."

"Not everyone," Temari grumbled.

"Call me Aya. No one uses my full name," Aya snapped at him.

"But Ayame is such a beautiful name." His eyes hardened just a little, "And id hasn't been soiled by Sabaku no Gaara."

Aya stood. Her eyes seemed more green than blue with temper. "What do you mean soiled?"

"Exactly what I said. He's a monster, Ayame. Do you really want him as our Kazekage?"

"Why you no-good, rotten, piece of...."

"Aya," Gaara interrupted in a warning tone.

Aya continued to glare at Hajime but didn't finish the insult. Instead she gave him a razor sharp smile that was all teeth. "Go away, Hajime. We don't want your company at this table nor did we ask for your opinion."

"I was just saying that the council should choose someone more suited for the job," Hajime said with a shrug.

Temari gave him a withering look, "And I suppose you think that you could do a better job than Gaara?"

"Anyone could do a better job than Gaara."

"You don't even know him," Kankuro commented with deadly calm.

"I don't need to." Hajime looked at Gaara with disgust. "Monsters like him are all the same and they never change. Gaara is and will always be a monster."

SLAP!!!!

Everyone stood in absolute shock. Aya had been standing there listening to Hajime's words with growing anger. Then she looked at Gaara and saw the absolute belief in his eyes. Gaara believed what Hajime was saying. That pissed her off even more. When she heard Hajime say that Gaara would always be a monster, she lost her temper. She hadn't thought about it really. All she knew was that she had never been so angry in her life and Hajime had to pay. So she hit him with every ounce of strength she had.

Hajime lifted a hand and touched his cheek. He could still feel the sting and knew there was probably a red mark there. He looked at Aya. If looks could kill he would have dropped dead from the look she was giving him. What he found interesting was that her eyes were now a solid green. "What was that for?" he asked calmly.

She wasn't calm and didn't bother sounding that way. Instead her voice vibrated with her rage. "Don't you ever say that about Gaara again. He's not a monster or have you forgotten that he hasn't killed anyone in this village recently? Have you forgotten that he had save the lives of almost every shinobi here during at least one mission? Did you forget that he is one of the people responsible for bringing down Orochimaru, an S-class criminal? Gaara is ten times better than you could ever hope to be, Hajime, simply because he never judged you based on things you can't control. He didn't ask to be the host of Shukaku. This village made him the host. He didn't ask to have to kill in order to survive. This village sent assassins after him." Aya paused and took a deep breath. She was beyond angry and needed to calm down a little bit. Her eyes were still green when she opened them but some blue had begun to creep back into them. "You know what, you don't care about any of this anyway. Go away, Hajime. I'm sick of looking at you."

Gaara stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. Aya was still shaking with rage. He gently led her outside without even looking at Hajime. Kankuro and Temari followed, each giving Hajime one last glare. Aya began to relax again once they were outside.

"I'm sorry, Gaara. I know you didn't want me to react but I couldn't help it. He pissed me off and I've never bothered controlling my reactions before." She looked up at him with worry. "You're not angry, are you?"

"No. I'm not," he replied calmly. He stopped and turned to face her. It still surprised him that she had been so quick to defend him.

Aya released a sigh of relief. "That's good."

Gaara leaned down so that he could whisper in her ear, "Thank you, Aya."

She blinked at him then smiled brilliantly. "You're my friend, Gaara. That's what friends do."

"Gaara!" someone shouted.

They turned to see Kaito rushing up to them. Kaito grinned at them, "Gaara, you've been ordered to come to the council meeting tomorrow morning. Don't be late." He turned to his daughter, "I heard you hit Hajime."

Aya began to grumble again and her father only laughed, "It's rare to see your temper explode like that. Usually you're much more smooth about winning your fights."

"He insulted Gaara," she told him with a shrug.

Kaito gave his daughter a knowing smile, "So I heard." He turned to Temari and Kankuro, "You two are also required to attend the meeting tomorrow." He waved and walked away, "I'll see you then."

"It looks like you're about to receive the offer to be Kazekage," Kankuro said. He suddenly grinned, "I can't wait to see the look on Hajime's face when he hears."

"You're a sadistic bastard, Kankuro," Temari informed her brother with her own grin. "Let's tell him ourselves."

"Why don't you both wait until Gaara actually gets the offer," Aya suggested.

"I suppose we should," Kankuro agreed.

"We'll make Hajime's day tomorrow then," Temari said with a wicked smile. She really couldn't stand Hajime.

Gaara shook his head at all of them. They seemed determined to make Hajime pay for insulting him. Gaara glanced at the three of them as they continued to plot against their mutual enemy and couldn't help but allow a small smile. He'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate their defense of him. Gaara didn't believe he deserved the defense, but at the same time Hajime could acknowledge the fact that he was trying to change.

"Now one of you has to come get me tomorrow morning. I want to be there when they offer Gaara the position as Kazekage. I would go on my own but I'll get lost," Aya told them.

"I'll come," Gaara responded automatically. He shook his head at himself. It wasn't that coming to get her bothered him. It was that he was always volunteering to come get her. The proof was in everyone's reaction. Usually when he volunteered to help someone, they would all look at him like he had grown a second head. Yet when he volunteered to help Aya no one even looked shocked. In fact, they would probably be surprised if he hadn't said anything.

Aya smiled up at them as they stopped in front of her clan's compound. "Alright then. I'll see you in the morning."

So, just before dawn of the next morning, Gaara found himself standing at Aya's front door. She came out quietly and gave him a whispered hello. "My clan's still sleeping," she explained in a low voice. "It's hard to sneak out of a house full of shinobi without waking someone but I try anyway."

He nodded and simply began to walk towards the council's meeting hall. The large building was in the center of Suna and held all of the offices of the village, the Kazekage's included. Aya had never been there before. As a civilian she had very little to do with the people inside this building. With the exception of Baki, she didn't even know who all the members of the council were. The only time she ever heard anything from the council was when her father had a meeting with them. Now Gaara was leading her through the maze of a building to hear what the council had to say.

They walked into the room and saw that Temari and Kankuro were already present. The council looked at Aya then at Gaara. "You know that civilians are generally not allowed in these meetings," the elder commented.

Gaara merely shrugged. Aya was there and it was too late to change that. He also had not intention of telling her to leave. She was a big part of why he had come this far. Without her he probably wouldn't be here right now. It would be wrong to tell her she couldn't be here to see what was about to happen to him. Besides, he wasn't convinced that he was about to be made the Kazekage. Maybe they were only going to order his slaughter or something. Damn, should have left her at home. He didn't want her to hear that.

"Sabaku no Gaara, the council of Suna has come to a decision regarding your actions during the last two years," the elder began. "You have proven yourself to be a very valuable asset to our village and have become the most powerful shinobi in Suna. As expected we are promoting you the position of the 5th Kazekage."

Gaara remained silent as shock settled on him. Sure everyone kept telling him that he would get the position, but he hadn't actually believed them.

Aya smiled and hugged him; catching him by surprise. "You did it, Gaara! You did it!"

He felt the smile tug at the corners of his mouth. Temari and Kankuro were grinning broadly and came over to join the celebration. Gaara had done it. He had become the protector of Sunakagure instead of it's monster. More importantly he had proven to himself that he had changed. He had become the Kazekage.

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That's it. I'm finished with this chapter. Hopefully it's a good one. Why don't you let me know in a review? Then I'll know if it's good or not. Makes perfect sense, don't it? Anyways, until next time.


	11. The Akatsuki's Attack

Alright, I finally managed to get the next chapter finished. Now, for those of you who've read 'A Suna Story' you'll know that I hate it when Gaara dies. Since I'm the one writing this, He's not going to die. I can't write that into the story. I've done it once in one of my other stories and I can't do it again. That's just all there is to it. He's one of my favorite characters and it would kill me to kill him. Sorry if this bothers anyone but I can't do it. So I'll let you get to the chapter now.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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**Ch. 11: Akatsuki's Attack**

Gaara spent a great deal of his time in the Kazekage's office now. Though the council had taken care of the more mundane decisions, there were a few things that only the Kazekage was allowed to take care of. Since there hadn't been a Kazekage for the last few years, there was a lot of work for Gaara to do. Aya saw to it that he remembered to eat and didn't stay pent up in his office all day. That was no easy task. Gaara seemed determined to work himself to death. It took incredible about of tenacity and stubbornness from Aya to drag him from his office every day.

"Come on, Gaara. It's almost sundown. You can do more fun paperwork in the morning," she told him.

"Aya, I've got to finish this."

Aya tapped her foot, "Gaara, there's a such thing as being too responsible. Put the paperwork down and go home. Otherwise I'll stay here all night and pester you. Then I won't get any sleep either. You know that will only make you feel guilty."

With a sigh, Gaara stood, "Alright." Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He looked out the window.

Aya saw him frown, "What is it, Gaara?"

"Get someplace safe. We're under attack."

"But the alarms aren't going off."

"I know. Go someplace safe."

Aya nodded and rushed away. Gaara called up his sand and prepared for battle. It took little time for him to reach the roof of the building. When the enemy landed on the roof he was ready and waiting. The blond man looked surprise to see him. Gaara carefully kept his face bland, not that it was difficult. He had lots of practice after all.

"This is as far as you go," he informed the intruder in a blank voice.

The man grinned and jumped into the air and landed on a huge clay bird. Gaara moved a second too slow to stop him. With careful manipulation, Gaara had his sand chasing after the man. The man had his bird moving quickly to outrun the sand. He just needed to stall for a little bit longer then he would be able to fight back. The intruder had his bird moved up into the air higher and higher. He glanced back at Gaara.

Gaara saw that he was getting nowhere so he pulled his sand back and formed a cloud with it. He jumped onto the cloud and rose up to meet his enemy. This guy would be very difficult to beat.

"I gotta say, you noticed me pretty quickly," the man complimented.

"Birds like that don't exist in this desert," Gaara explained as he considered his strategy. He didn't know this man or his fighting style.

"I see," the man replied slowly.

Below the village was on full alert. Not only did Aya rush out of the Kazekage's building shouting that they were under attack but others had noticed the sand and the bird floating in the air. Kankuro walked into the Kazekage's office to find that his brother wasn't there. One of the shinobi told him what was going on and he rushed to see for himself. All over Suna villagers were watching the sky for the next move. Aya rushed into Gaara's office and saw Kankuro by the window.

"Kankuro, what do we do?" she demanded.

"I don't know. We can't help him up there," Kankuro replied in frustration. They rushed out onto on one of the roofs so they could see better. A group of shinobi rushed out with them.

Meanwhile up in the air the intruder prepared for his next move, "I guess my stealth moves failed." He grinned, "But thanks to that I don't have to wast time searching for you."

Gaara decided not to wait for the man to attack. That last comment only proved that he knew about Gaara and was here for him. That put Gaara at a disadvantage since he knew nothing about his opponent. Instead he called upon the sand from below and formed a large wave of sand.

The man stared in surprise and said to himself, "As expected, he has the advantage. This could get ugly."

Kankruto, Aya, and a group of Shinobi rushed out and stared as Gaara attacked. Aya placed her hands over her mouth and watched in horror. "Gaara," she whispered.

Giant sand hands chased after the intruder with deadly intent. The man turned and flew back towards Gaara. It was time for his own attack. He dropped several bombs but not one made it to Gaara himself. The intruder tossed more but again, Gaara stopped them with his sand.

'He uses strange explosives. And they're a type that can be controlled from a distance,' Gaara thought to himself. That could make things difficult on him. Both of them were distance fighters and he still had to protect the village as well as himself. He kept his sand chasing after the man.

The man formed two clay birds into bombs. He made them move as fast as he could towards his target and they made it all the way to Gaara. The blond man detonated them. The explosion was huge and formed a huge ball of fire in the air.

"Gaara!" Aya and Kankuro shouted together.

When the smoke cleared they saw that the sand had moved to protect Gaara. Aya released a relieved sigh. She was glad to see that Gaara was alright. Even from inside the ball of sand Gaara was able to control his sand. A large wave of sand began to close over the intruder, and he couldn't escape in time. Now there were two balls of sand floating in the air.

Below Kankuro said, "It's over."

One of the shinobi sighed with relief, "As expected of Lord Kazekage."

"Yeah! As long as Lord Kazekage is here, our village is safe," another agreed.

Kankruo smirked then suddenly frowned, "No."

Aya gasped when she saw the explosion come from the ball of sand containing the intruder. She saw a blond man fall out of the the hole the explosion created. Sand chased after him, grabbing his leg and yanking him back towards the ball of sand. Before the sand to catch him again he created yet another clay bird. Aya was glad to see he wasn't having an easy time beating Gaara.

"That idiot. No one escapes Gaara's sand," Kankuro said.

Aya nodded in agreement. Gaara was Kazekage for a reason. She watched as the man was forced to dodge large arms of sand. Even though she had the upmost confidence in Gaara, she kept thinking about the first time she saw a fight. It had been between Kankuro and Temari. As an observer she hadn't been able to tell why Kankuro had lost that fight. It made her nervous that something so small that she couldn't see it could cost Gaara this fight. She hoped it ended soon.

"Kankuro!" They looked over to see Baki and a team of shinobi land next to them. Baki stepped forward, "Is Gaara fighting? Where is he?"

"Yeah." Kankuro turned and pointed at the floating ball of sand containing Gaara. "He's over there."

Aya was surprised to see that Baki actually looked worried for his former student. "Gaara..."

The group watched the battle between the blond man and Gaara continue. Suddenly the sand caught the intruder's arm. Aya turned and covered her eyes. She couldn't watch. Kankuro and Temari had told her about Gaara's special technique, the desert coffin, and she didn't want to see it. The explosion had her opening her eyes again and looking up again. The blond man had tried to force the sand to release him by using and explosive but it didn't even make a dent. There were cheers from the villagers below as Gaara crushed the man's arm. Rather than being caught again, the man allowed his arm to be ripped off. Everyone cursed the man. He had gotten away.

Aya watched the man. He was up to something. She didn't like it. Then she saw that he had something in his hands, but she couldn't tell what it was. That really made her nervous. Everyone could only watch as the fight continued.

One of the shinobi with Kankuro and Aya was looking through binoculars. "Black cloaks with red clouds." The shinobi looked at Kankuro. "Judging from the way he's dressed, the Kazekage's opponent is a member of Akatsuki."

"Just as I thought," Kankuro grumbled.

"Kankuro."

Gaara's older brother glanced back at Baki, "What?"

"Gaara is using his 'absolute defense' sand to fight," Baki replied. "We have to assume that the enemy is highly skilled. We also need to consider what to do if Gaara loses control."

Kankuro looked surprised then irritated. Aya glared at Baki.

"We need to consider a scenario where Shukaku comes out. The villagers are in danger," Baki said bluntly.

Kankuro grinned, "That won't be a problem. Gaara will never harm the villagers. No matter what."

Aya nodded in agreement.

Hajime looked at Kankuro and Aya with some doubt. Then he looked up at Gaara and for the first time wondered. Maybe Aya had been right all along. Maybe Gaara had changed. He was fighting for the village right now after all. Why would Gaara do that if he didn't really care about them?

"You're needed by everyone here, Gaara," Kankuro mumbled as he remembered a conversation he had with his brother before he had become Kazekage. Gaara had told him why he had changed and wanted to be the Kazekage. "You're the Sunagakure's Kazekage!" he reminded his brother.

Aya smiled then added her own voice. "Gaara! You better be careful! I still need you!"

Gaara's eyes moved to her for a moment then back to his enemy. 'I can't afford to lose,' he thought to himself. 'Aya will be the one to suffer the most if I lose.'

Below, Baki watched Gaara for a moment the turned to the shinobi around him. He could do more than just stand there. Gaara was working to protect the villagers and Baki could make the job a little easier. He turned to a shinboi standing next to him. "Issue an emergency summons."

"Yes, sir," the shinobi replied then rushed off to obey.

Baki moved to the next one, "You, take two squads and guard th reservoir!" He didn't even wait for a reply. Baki marched down the line of shinobi barking orders to them. "Seal all roads leading into A-Block! There's no reason to think that there's only one enemy. Whatever happens, do not slack on battle preparations. Have the medical teams create a barrier and get all civilians inside immediately! Hurry! We can't afford a single casualty. Got it?"

Once again Suna began a hub of activity as people moved to obey Baki's orders. Aya moved closer to Kankuro. If anyone tried to make her move she would hurt them. No way was she going to wait behind some barrier just because she was a civilian. Besides, she wanted to see what was happening with Gaara's fight. She looked up at Gaara. 'Please be careful, Gaara.'

Baki watched the movement of the shinobi. "We will support Gaara...No, Lord Kazekage with our full strength."

Aya turned to him and smiled, "Thank you, Baki."

He shook his head, "It's only right."

Hajime looked back up at the fight above them and then turned to Baki, "I'm going to help protect the civilians. That will be Gaara's greatest concern so the more protection the better."

Baki nodded.

Aya looked at Hajime in shock.

He saw the look and grinned, "Hey, I know how to admit it when I'm wrong. Gaara is fighting for us now. Not against us like before." With that he rushed towards the area the civilians were being held in.

Everyone looked back up. The man had expanded some large clay object and it was falling towards them. Aya took an impulsive step back. It wasn't the object that had her afraid so much as the look on Gaara's face. He looked...worried. 'This isn't good,' she thought with concern. 'Gaara's never worried.' She heard others around her begin to mumble questions as they watched the clay object fall. What was that thing? Suddenly she heard Baki's voice.

"This is bad! Everyone, retreat!" he shouted.

"It's too late," Aya whispered as she saw the intruder above move his hand.

The object exploded. Aya closed her eyes and screamed Gaara's name as waited for the pain to come. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw a sand wall above her. She gapped at it. Gaara had protected them with this. She wasn't the only one. Everyone seemed in awe of what their Kazekage could do when needed. Suddenly many of them found themselves grateful that he was on their side now.

Aya sensed someone come up behind her. She looked to see Yura, a member of the Suna council, standing there. "Hello, Yura."

"You should be someplace safe, Miss Hayashi. You are Gaara's greatest weakness after all," Yura informed her.

She looked back up at the fight then back at Yura. He had a point. She didn't think she was Gaara's greatest weakness, but he would lose concentration if she were in danger. "Alright. Lead on."

Yura smiled, "Follow me then."

"Kankuro, I'm going with Yura," she informed Gaara's brother.

"Alright. Be careful."

Aya watched as she walked. The man had sent one of those smaller bombs after Gaara and almost got him. Luckily Gaara was able to close the hole in his defenses before it got him. Then something went wrong. She didn't know what it was but something exploded inside Gaara's sand defenses. She stopped walking and stared in horror the ball of sand that contained Gaara's body. It was melting. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Gaara's eyes open. He began to move the sand in order to keep the village from being damaged. The village began attacking the intruder. They wouldn't let him get Gaara. Then the huge cloud of sand that had protected the village was gone and Gaara's body began to fall. He had lost consciousness.

"GAARA!!!" Aya screamed. "WAKE UP!!!"

He was someplace dark and didn't know how to get out. Fog was all around him and swirled to hid everything from his view. A voice called out to him. It was familiar and sounded so sad. He didn't want that voice to be sad. Maybe if he followed the sound he'd be able to keep it from being sad. Gaara followed it and saw light. There was a face there. Blue-green eyes and dark hair. He knew her. Ayame Hayashi. A thought surface in his fogged mind. 'I can't afford to lose.'

Sea foam eyes snapped open and saw that he was about to land on that man's bird. He rolled in the air and avoided the bird. Gaara knew he had nothing left to fight with but neither did the man. As long as he could avoid being caught, Gaara still won. Every time his enemy tried to catch him, Gaara simply avoided him. A huge gust of wind came from below and knocked the intruders bird off course. Gaara looked down to see Temari her fan. She released another gust of wind, determined to protect her brother. He also saw that he was close enough to the village that he didn't need to worry now. That was good because he was losing consciousness again. Kankuro and Baki jumped up and caught Gaara before he hit the ground. There was a cheer from the village.

Aya had been watching from her vantage point with Yura. She smiled, "He's okay. Gaara's okay."

"You should be more worried about yourself, Aya," Yura said.

She turned, "Huh?" Aya's world went black.

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That's it for now. Let me know what you thought.


	12. Missing

Sorry for the wait. I was having a bad case of writers block. This chapter is shorter than normal because of it. Hopefully this will help me work through the block. I think it has. I'll go start chapter 13 and see. Enjoy.

Oh, and to answer the most popular question from the last chapter...yes Yura was Sasori's spy in Suna. I believe he was a sleeper spy.

Disclaimer: We've been through this so I won't say it again. If you insist on the disclaimer go see one of my other chapters. At least one of them have to say it.

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Ch. 12: Missing

He opened his eyes slowly to see someone with pink hair looking down at him. Who was that? It was hard to tell because everything looked blurry. The figure moved out of his line of sight then was back again. His vision was starting to come back into focus. Now he could see that it was Sakura Haruno from Konoha. He looked around and saw Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were there as well, talking with his siblings. He could just make out the words. Something about Aya and missing. Gaara closed his eyes. He was so tired.

Suddenly he bolted upright. Everyone rushed to him at once but he ignored them. His cold, angry eyes were on Kankuro. "What do you mean, Aya is missing?" he demanded of his brother.

The puppet master sighed, "We can't find her. She was here during the attack then she left with Yura for safety. We haven't be able to locate either of them since the attack."

Gaara shifted and started to stand. Sakura and Aya's father moved in to prevent him from getting up. The Konoha medic was glaring at him. "Oh, no you don't, Gaara. You haven't recovered yet. You won't do Aya any good if you don't finish getting your strength back."

"Besides, if you find Aya in the condition you're in, she'll kill you," Kaito stated with a grin.

Gaara let them push him back onto the bed. They were right. He wouldn't be able to help Aya without rest. His eyes moved back to Kankuro and Temari, "Find her. I don't care if you have the tear the village apart. Find Aya."

"We will, Gaara. Don't worry. She's our friend too," Kankuro replied. "The A...

Temari hit Kankuro on the head and glared at him. "Don't add to his worry, Kankuro. Let's go." She grabbed her brother and began pulling him out of the room.

"Nice to see you're awake now," Naruto commented.

Gaara sat back up but didn't try to stand this time. "She's gone. They've taken her, haven't they? That's what Kankuro was about to say before Temari stopped him. The Akatsuki have her because she's close to me."

Naruto ignored Sakura, who was shaking her head to tell him not to answer. The blond boy nodded gravely, "Yes. We believe they do. After you were unconscious, your village expected the intruder to keep attacking but he didn't. Instead he looked over towards the cliffs and then flew off. No one knows what he saw. Sasuke thinks it must have been some sort of signal."

"Damn it, Naruto. Now he won't wait until he recovers to go after her," Sakura snapped.

"So, if it was one of my friends I'd want to the truth anyway. Its his choice, Sakura. We're not the ones that are going to have to bear the guilt if Aya is killed," Naruto snapped back. He pointed at Gaara, "He is."

Sakura closed her mouth then let out a long sigh. "I know. He can't save her in the condition he's in right now though."

Kaito looked at Gaara. He saw the guilt in the young man's eyes. He placed a hand on the Kazekage's shoulder, "You'll save her, Gaara. They won't kill her because they need her. She's their bargaining chip. You trade yourself for her. That's what they'll tell you. Now listen very carefully to what I'm about to say." Kaito waited until Gaara was looking at him before continuing. "If you agree to their terms, I'll kill you for Aya. She would rather die than be the reason you're killed and that's what the Akatsuki plan to do to you. Now you will go and fight them. You will win and then you will bring Aya home. But under no circumstances are you to ruin Aya's happiness by getting yourself killed. Understand me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now rest and then we'll see what to do about getting my daughter back."

Gaara nodded and laid back down. Everyone followed Kaito out of the room to let Gaara rest. Sasuke looked back into the room, "I can't imagine what he's going through."

"Let me put it into perspective then. How would you feel if it were Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke barely suppressed the shudder, and looked at Sakura as if to make sure she was still there.

"How long until he'll recover?" Naruto asked.

"A few hours before he decides that he's recovered enough to help look for Aya. Being a jinchuriki has its benefits, like quick healing," Kaito replied. "It will take several more hours after he's stopped resting for him to recover entirely though."

"Alright. Let's see if we can find Aya before then," Kakashi said. "I don't want Gaara to rush off on his own."

"Right," they all agreed.

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"My head hurts," she grumbled, and tried to reach up and grab the offended body part. Her arm would move. Aya opened her eyes to find out why. Her arms were tied behind her back. She wiggled a little and managed to get into a sitting position. Where ever she was, it was dark. She could barely make out her own body in the darkness. Aya waited for a moment for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. She was in a cave somewhere. "Well, this is just great. I've been kidnapped by a bunch of murdering bastards and they've abandoned me in some cave. Wonderful. As if this day could get any better," she grumbled to herself.

"We didn't abandon you," said a deep, low voice.

She looked over to see what she assumed to be a man. If he was a man, he was a very deformed one. She couldn't be sure because his cloak his his entire body, and the hat on his head hid his face. When he turned away from her she saw a tail. Okay, maybe he wasn't a man. Standing next to him was the intruder who had attacked their village. Now that she could see him close up, she realized he didn't look like a bad guy. Half of his blond hair was in a ponytail with a lock of it falling over one of his blue eyes. Like his companion, he had on a black cloak with red clouds.

"Who are you?" she asked curiously. As usual, Aya didn't react to being in a life or death situation like others did. She knew that she should probably be frightened but she wasn't. Being afraid probably wouldn't do her any good anyway.

"We are member of the Akatsuki," the blond man replied.

"So you are a group of people who are all named Akatsuki?" she asked. "How in the world do you keep from getting each other mixed up?"

"We aren't named Akatsuki. The group is. My name is Deidara," the blond man snapped at her.

She smiled, "Oh, well why didn't you say so?"

"Aren't you afraid?" the other man asked.

"Not really," she replied.

He watched her for a moment then said, "My name is Sasori."

Her eyes widened, "Sasori of the Red Sand? The missing nin?"

"Yes."

"You don't look like Sasori," she commented with narrowed eyes. "I was told he was a red head."

He didn't respond. Instead he turned to Deidara, "It's time."

"Alright. I'll go tell them that we have her and they won't get her back unless they give us Gaara." The blond man walked out of the cave.

Now Aya was afraid. She knew Gaara. He would do it. If it would save her life he would sacrifice his own. The idiot. She had to do something. No way was she going to let Gaara die just to save her. She looked around and saw a sharp looking rock. With a little bit of shifting she managed to pick it up. Aya went to work slicing the ropes binding her hands. She watched Sasori carefully. It would be bad if he noticed what she was doing. Then he might do something to stop her. The rope gave a little. She wanted to look back and see how much she had managed to cut through but Sasori would see her look. Gaara's life depended on her getting away. If they didn't have her then Gaara wouldn't give in. Suddenly the rope fell away. She shifted so that Sasori wouldn't see it.

Now what? Sasori was standing between her and the entrance. She looked around and saw that there was a tunnel in the back of the cave. Well, she could go that way. She might even get away providing that it wasn't a dead end and she could outrun Sasori. Aya looked back at him. He didn't look like he could move very fast. It would probably help that he obviously didn't think she was going anywhere. The guy barely looked at her. He just kept standing there by the cave entrance watching for…something. Aya stood quickly and made her way to the back of the cave without making any sound. She just made it to the tunnel when she heard Sasori's voice.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She turned to see he was heading towards her. Aya panicked and ran for it. She didn't know where she was going or how she was going to get back to Suna. All she knew was that she had to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction of Sasori. If he caught her Gaara would be killed. No way was she going to allow that. Nothing in her could let that happen. Gaara had suffered enough. She didn't want to be the reason something else bad happened to him. She refused to be yet another bad thing in his life. So Aya ran with all she had. Behind her she could hear Sasori chasing after her. She wondered if it was possible for a civilian to outrun a shinobi. Probably not. At least, she'd never heard of it happening before.

"You can't run forever girl. I will catch you sooner or later. You'll tire out before I do and I'm faster than you," Sasori called from several yards behind her. "Then Sabaku no Gaara will be ours for the taking. Yura told us you were his weakness. We'll use his attachment to you to get him."

"You still have to catch me first," she called over her shoulder and put on a burst a speed. Aya began to pray to any god listening that she could outrun Sasori. She had to outrun him. What other choice did she have?

_----------Meanwhile in Suna----------_

Gaara read the message left by the Akatsuki. Shortly after finishing the last word on the page, he crumpled the note in his hand. If they thought for one second that he was going to let them kill Aya then they were crazy. They were all going to pay for laying one hand on his Aya.

He stood and pulled on his shirt. For the last hour he had done nothing but rest and he had enough of that. The Akatsuki had Aya and he had to make them give her back. Preferably without getting killed in the process. Kaito was right about that. Aya wouldn't want him to sacrifice his own life for hers. What he wanted to know was could he give her what she would want? Could he save her without getting himself killed? He wasn't so sure right now.

Gaara turned and walked out of the hospital. One way or another he would save Aya and make the Akatsuki pay for every moment of fear they put in her.

"Gaara, are you sure you should be up?" Temari asked when she saw him.

"No, but I can't lie down anymore. Have you located Aya?"

She shook her head. "We're still looking. It's like she's disappeared off the face of the earth."

Gaara glanced down at the crumpled note in his hands. He uncrumpled it and reread it. The Kazekage didn't really need to read it again. He already had the words memorized. Still, he felt compelled to make sure he hadn't missed some detail that could help them find Aya.

_To the Kazekage of Sunagakure:_

_As you have probably guessed by now we are after the tailed beast imprisoned inside your body. Tomorrow at dawn one of our men will come to Suna to take you. If you come willingly and we will return the girl to the Suna council alive and unharmed. However if you resist then we will return Ayame Hayashi's dead body to you._

_The Akatsuki_

Gaara released a sigh as he wondered what he was going to do. Suddenly Sasuke and Naruto rushed up.

"We've found their trail," Sasuke informed Gaara.

* * *

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	13. Finding Aya

Alright. I apologize for the delay but I had a lot going on here. School has started naturally and I had to study lots. Between physics (which I'm not good at) and calculus I barely have time to sleep let alone write. But I've finally finished chapter 13. I hope it lives up to expectations.

Disclaimer: Won't say it. look at chapter one I know there's a disclaimer there because I just looked. if you must have one use it.

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**Ch. 13: Finding Aya  
**

Aya was still running. There wasn't time for her to do anything else. She could still hear Sasori behind her and he was catching up. Her hopes soared when she saw a glimpse of light in front of her. She ran faster only to come to a skidding halt. It was a dead end. Aya spun around as Sasori walked up to her. He smirked, "Did you think we would be so dumb as to keep you in a place with two exits and only one guard?"

"The thought came to mind," she replied as her mind raced for a way out of this mess. She couldn't let them use her to get Gaara.

Sasori turned and walked back into the tunnel. "While I commend you for your near escape, you will not get away." He turned and placed small pieces of paper along the tunnel wall. "This will make a nice holding cell while we wait for the arrival of the Kazekage."

Sasori brought his hands together and focused. Aya frowned. 'Just what was he doing?' she wondered. Then the tags on the walls exploded. Her eyes widened and she rushed forward. "NO!" It was too late. The cave collapsed. She covered her face with her arms and stepped back. When the dust cleared, she opened her eyes and groaned. The tunnel was now blocked off. Her eyes narrowed. There had to be another way out.

Her eyes scanned the area around her and she saw that the light was coming from a small hole high up on the wall. She could have to do quite a bit of climbing to get to it but what did she have to lose? Aya began climbing up the wall. It hurt and she felt the rock digging into her palms. She slipped but didn't allow herself to fall. Aya knew she had to escape. She had to escape before it was too late...before Gaara got there and sacrificed his life for her. She wouldn't allow it. She couldn't allow it. Aya grunted with effort as she pulled herself up.

----------_With Gaara_----------

They were running as fast as they could. Gaara was determined. He wouldn't slow down and he couldn't give up. They had found her trail and he wouldn't let anything stop him from getting to her. If he had to tear the world apart then so be it. Gaara's eyes narrowed. Inside his mind, he heard the spirit of Shukaku stir. The one-tailed beast seemed just as angry by Aya's kidnapping as his host. That Gaara didn't understand. Never before had Shukaku cared about the well-being of another. Hell, the only reason he even cared about Gaara was because if his host died then Shukaku would die as well. Oh well. Gaara wasn't going to complain about this. Shukaku's annoyance with the situation would only guarantee his cooperation should it be needed.

Something stopped in front of them and they all slid to a stop. Gaara didn't have to ask for the identity of the man who now blocked their path. Sasuke's reaction told him all he needed to know. Sasuke had hissed and his sharingan activated instantly. There was a rage burning in his eyes that told everyone who was standing before them.

Gaara got his first look at Itachi Uchiha. His long, dark hair was kept in a low ponytail. Those dark eyes held a haunted and determined look. He wore the traditional clothing of the Akatsuki, a black cloak with red clouds. The eyes changed to that of the sharingan. His gaze shifted to Sasuke and he smirked.

"Hello, little brother. It's been along time," he greeted Sasuke in a cool, smooth voice.

Sasuke practically growled and would have attacked but Sakura and Naruto grabbed him. "Sasuke, get a hold of yourself," Naruto snapped out.

"You'll only get killed if you attack in anger like this," Sakura shouted at him.

Sasuke forced himself to calm down. They were right. Itachi was an expert fighter and one of the most skilled shinobi in the world. He couldn't risk attacking when his head wasn't clear. Besides, Itachi was probably counting on that. Sasuke stepped back and his friends released him. His eyes remained narrowed as he glared at his brother.

Kakashi stepped forward, "We can't afford to waste time. We only have 'till dawn or Aya will be killed."

Gaara glared and took a fighting stance. A hand on his shoulder stopped him. Kakashi shook his head. "Let Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura handle it. The rest of us will continue."

Naruto grinned at Gaara, "Yeah, Gaara. You have to go get Aya."

The kazekage nodded and prepared to run with his siblings and Kakashi. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura prepared to attack. Itachi's eyes narrowed, "That will not work. Do you really think I'm going to just let you pass me?"

"You won't have a choice," Sasuke snapped out.

He attacked. This time his head was cool and he calculated each move carefully. Naruto and Sakura were right behind him. They attacked as a team and were nearly more than Itachi could handle. Team 7 seemed to coordinate their moves without actually speaking with each other.

Gaara wasted no time. He began to run. When Itachi tried to stop him, Sasuke blocked his attack and forced him to focus on the battle at hand. This allowed the sand siblings and Kakashi to get past Itachi. Gaara made a mental not to thank the three of them later. He continued to run as fast as he could. There was no time to lose. Aya was still counting on him. Gaara put on a burst of speed. The sooner he got there the better.

They heard fighting in the distance and glanced over to see Guy jumping into the air. It would seem that their team had come to their aid and was now fighting with yet another member of the Akatsuki. Gaara would have helped but he didn't have the time. Not only that, they were fighting with a water user and that was his weakness. He turned forward and kept following Aya's trail. It seemed to take forever before he found the cave and burst inside.

The man who had attacked him earlier and someone else was waiting inside for them. The blonde man grinned, "Welcome. We were going to come get you but this works too. Why don't you just surrender, Gaara. We have the girl and only we know where she is. If you don't surrender, I'll make sure she dies."

Kankuro stated to move forward for an attack but Gaara stopped him. "They have Aya," the kazekage explained calmly. "Until we know where she is we can't kill them."

"Gaara, they're not going to just tell us," Temari pointed out.

The deformed figure next to Deidara chuckled. "You should have remained heartless, Gaara. That would have made all of this much easier. Your only choice if you want to save the girl is to surrender."

Gaara closed his eyes. They were right. He didn't know where Aya was. Even if he won the fight against them, he wouldn't be able to save her. There had to be a way to locate her without having them tell him. He looked at the others. They shook their heads. There was no way to find Aya without going through the Akatsuki members and they weren't going to just had the information over, even if they lost the fight. Gaara lowered his head in defeat.

"Have it your way," he told them.

"Good. Just to insure that you don't change your mind, we won't hand over the girl until we get what we want from you," Deidara stated.

Gaara took a step forward and prepared for the worst. The chances of his surviving this were slim to none and he knew it. 'Sorry, Aya,' he thought mentally. 'I have no choice. I won't let them kill you even if it means my own life.' He chuckled at himself. Who'd have thought that the monster of Suna would give his life for another? That he'd care enough about someone else to be willing to die for them? Yet here he was, giving up everything for a girl that was nothing but a puzzle for him.

He didn't understand Aya and he never would. She trusted him. She cared about him. The first person to ever do any of those things for him. The first to give him a gift. The first to look at him without fear. His eyes narrowed. The first to make him feel something. Yes, he would die for her because she'd given him something he never thought he could have.

His eyes met the deformed man. "Take what you want. It doesn't matter as long as you keep your word and release Aya."

"Gaara," Temari stated. "Don't."

"There's no other way," he snapped out. "I won't let them kill her and they know where she is. Unless you know how to find her this is the only way."

Kankuro looked at Gaara in consideration then nodded. "Alright, Gaara. We won't leave here without Aya."

Gaara looked back at Kankuro. "I know. Tell her I'm sorry."

----------_With Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura----------_

Sasuke knocked Itachi back with every ounce of strength he had to give Naruto time to prepare. Sakura punched the ground and Itachi barely managed to dodge. The two of them were distracting him but as long as he didn't notice that was fine. Naruto needed just a few seconds to prepare his attack. Sasuke drew a sword that Kakashi had given him for his birthday last year. Itachi smirked. 'Come little brother,' he thought. 'It's time for you to prove to me that you are strong.' Sasuke attacked and Itachi dodged back and attacked with a genjustu. Sasuke paused and broke free of the attack. He heard Naruto call out from behind him and grinned. It was time to end this.

He dropped the sword and focused his power into his hands. Lighting seemed to come out of his hands as he formed the chidori. He attacked from the front. Itachi's eyes widened and he dodged to the side. Sasuke smirked. Naruto came out of the trees and attacked with the rasengan. The attack was a direct hit. Itachi grunted with pain as Naruto slammed him down into the ground. For an instant, they all stood there and waited. Then Sasuke relaxed.

"We won." He frowned. "That seemed way too easy."

"Yeah, with all the hype around him, I expected it to be harder to beat Itachi," Naruto stated as he walked over to the crater. "What the...?!"

The other two rushed over and looked in surprise. It wasn't Itachi in the crater but another sand nin. Sakura looked at the other two, "Do you know how this happened?"

They shook their heads. Sasuke looked over towards the caves. "We had better hurry. Gaara might need help."

"Right," the other two agreed and they rushed towards the caves. They could only pray that they weren't too late.

_-----------With Aya----------_

Aya grunted as she reached the top of the tunnel. It would take all the strength she had left to pull herself through the opening. All she could do was pray it was big enough for her to fit through. Aya pulled herself straight up and cried out with the effort it took. She got her upper body through and stopped to catch her breath. Sweat trickled down her face and her body was coated in a layer of it. This was not normal for her. She'd never realized just how stubborn and strong she could be when the situation demanded it. Her she was, a civilian, pulling off a feat that most shinobi wouldn't believe she was capable of. Hell, she hadn't thought she was capable of it until now. She was escaping on her own. No white knight or anything.

"Well, almost escaped," she said to herself and looked around. There was nothing but forest. Odd, there was a forest in the land of wind. She hadn't realized that. "I really need to get out more." This meant she didnt' know where she was. Great. Now she didn't know where to go from here. "Oh well. I've got to get out no matter what."

Aya pulled herself the rest of the way through the hole and stood up on the top of the caves. She chose to follow the caves beneath her to the entrance. Perhaps there was a trail there that would lead her back to the village. Besides, if Gaara came, he would end up at that entrance. She saw an explosion directly in front of her several miles away from the cave entrance. There was fighting there. Gaara. Aya ran as fast as she could in that direction. She was so focused on that that she forgot she was standing on the top of the caves and nearly fell down when she reached the entrance. The cave beneath her trembled a little.

"What in the world?" Aya began to make her way down the side of the cave entrance and turned to look inside. Her eyes widened and her heart did a quick flip. No. She wouldn't let him. Aya raced inside and shouted, "Gaara!"

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That's it. Now that I've left you at a cliff hanger, I'll be going now. Until the next chapter.


	14. Battles and Poison

Here it is. I finished chapter 14. I'd just like to take this moment to remind everyone that fight scenes are not my cup of tea. I suck at them...at least I think I do. If you don't think so thanks. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter.

Disclaimer: insert usual bs here so that I don't get sued.

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**Ch. 14: Battles and Poison  
**

He'd been standing in the center of the cavern. Surrounding him were several shadowed figures that were all members of the Akatsuki. They'd already activated the jutsu and Gaara felt as if something was being ripped away from him. The statue in front of him glowed and drew something from him. He wanted to fight it, but didn't. Aya's life depended on his cooperation. It was killing him though. Literally. He forced himself to remain calm. He couldn't afford to fight. Aya.

"Gaara!"

His eyes snapped open. He knew that voice. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her. Aya was standing in the cave entrance gasping for breath. Blood dripped from her palms and dirt coated her clothes. Her eyes were on him with fear and anger burning inside them. She stumbled and Kakashi caught her easily. Kankuro moved forward and threw a kunai at Deidara and Sasori, interrupting the jutsu. Gaara felt it release him. His eyes didn't leave Aya. She was here and alive. She was bleeding.

"Easy there, Aya. You look beat," Kakashi said calmly. It was a good thing she showed up. The jutsu the Akatsuki were using on Gaara hadn't had time to take affect. His eyes moved to Gaara and he frowned. Something wasn't right with Gaara's eyes. They were still green but the shape was wrong. They were shaped like Shukaku's eyes now.

"You're bleeding," Gaara stated.

Aya nodded. "I know. I've got one bad cut on my leg too." Her eyes met his and widened. "Gaara, you're eyes..."

He didn't wait for her to finish. He turned to the Akatsuki. "You will pay," he growled. All but two of the shadows vanished. The two that had captured Aya to begin with. The blond one smirked and the deformed one looked out at them from beneath his hat. It looked like they would have to fight Gaara after all.

"Gaara, watch out," Aya shouted. "The funny shaped one is Sasori of the Red Sand. Be careful."

Gaara nodded and stepped forward and his eyes remained on Sasori. "You will suffer for every moment of fear she had."

"Let's see if you can back up that talk," the blond man replied and pulled out two clay bombs.

Kakashi looked at Temari and Kankuro. "Gaara can't handle them both alone even with Shukaku. I'm going to take the blond man."

"Deidara," Aya supplied.

Kankuro nodded, "I'll help you. Temari can protect Aya."

The two shinobi moved forward and stood next to Gaara. Kakashi informed him of their plan. The kazekage nodded and turned his full attention onto Sasori. Aya looked at them all and stepped back. She would only be in the way at this point. Temari stepped in front of Aya and pulled her fan out, just in case. Gaara would go ballistic if anything happened to Aya. She was his greatest weakness. Unforntunately for the Akatsuki, she was also his greatest strength. Gaara would do anything to save her and that meant he wouldn't hold back.

The battle began. Gaara made the first move and shot a large hand of sand after Sasori. Sasori dodged easily and moved quickly to keep from being caught by the sand. Escaping Gaara's clutches wouldn't be easy, so it was best not to get caught in the first place. Sasori's cloak was lost at some point and Aya could only stare. He wasn't human. He looked like....a puppet. A really odd shaped puppet. He even had a tail.

"What I the world?" Aya asked Temari. "He's a puppet."

Temari nodded. "The real Sasori must be around her somewhere though. He has to be near by in order to control the puppet."

There was a large explosion and Aya jerked her attention back to the fight. Deidara was the source of the explosion. Kakashi and Kankuro weren't making his battle easy. The explosions were going to make everything collapse if Deidara wasn't more careful though. Then they would all be crushed to death. Deidara threw yet another bomb. Kakashi dodged left and the clay spider latched onto the wall. There was a large explosion and the cave shook again. Aya stumbled and fell. She winced. Her muscles were very soar. She heard something crumble. Her head jerked up and stared at the ceiling. Rocks fell. The fighting paused as each fighter prepared to block the falling stones. A dome of sand appeared around Aya and Temari. 'Gaara,' the painter thought.

The ground continued to shake for several minutes. Aya really wished she could see what was happening. It worried her to hear all that destruction outside the dome and not be able to see if Gaara was alright. Then the sand melted away. Aya looked around. The cave was now more of a crater. The roof had fallen away leaving nothing but walls. The battle still raged on in front of her. None of the fighters seemed hurt thought they each supported at lease one new bruise. Sand suddenly sprouted from the ground and surrounded Sasori. Gaara made a gesture and the sand began to fall onto the puppet. Sasori watch the sand coming and cursed. He would have to abandon Hiruko if he wanted to escape alive. The sand closed over him and buried him alive. It took quick maneuvering but he ejected himself from the puppet just as the sand closed over him. The puppet he'd been in was destroyed.

Gaara's rage knew no bounds at this moment. He felt like his blood was boiling from it. These men had made Aya, a defenseless civilian, bleed. They had cause her fear for no better reason than she mattered to him. These members of the Akatsuki had to pay. He would make them pay if it was the last thing he did. Gaara closed his fists crushing the now empty puppet. He knew Sasori wasn't inside it anymore, but he wouldn't allow the puppet master a chance to use that puppet again. His eyes trailed over to where Sasori stood now and narrowed. So this was the real face of Sasori.

"You're stronger than I expected," Sasori commented as he pulled out a scroll. "It seems I'll have to use this after all."

"It doesn't matter what you use," Gaara growled out. His voice was an odd blend of his own and Shukaku's much like his eyes had become. "I'll destroy you."

Sasori smirked. "You can try."

The puppet master pulled out a puppet that had Gaara's eyes narrowing. They now knew what had happened to the third kazekage. It didn't matter what Sasori pulled out though. Gaara intended to make him pay. The smell of Aya's blood was in every breath he took. Shukaku was obviously increasing his senses. The tailed beast wanted Gaara angry. He wanted Sasori to pay as well. Whether it was because he just like to fight or because he cared about Aya, Gaara didn't know. It really didn't matter in the end.

Aya stood next to Temari as they watched the fight. She didn't really understand fighting. As a nonfighter it just hadn't mattered before. Now she wished she understood the intricacies of battle. Then at least she would know who was winning. She kept thinking of the first time she'd seen Temari and Kankuro train. At first they had seemed evenly matched. Out of the blue, Temari had knocked Kankuro down. It made Aya nervous now to know that something so small that she didn't see it could cost Gaara this fight. Her eyes followed him as he battled the new puppet Sasori had pulled out. She frowned at the black metal that came from the puppet and spiraled around Gaara like little blades.

"Gaara, don't let those things scratch you," Temari shouted. "Remember he had poison on everything."

Aya felt her blood turn cold. In this battle, one scratch could cost him his life. For her the battle seemed to drag on for hours. Gaara dodged around for a moment as he watched the puppet move. Then he stopped and held up a hand. Sand gathered and then pressed together. When it solidified a spear was in place of the sand. With very careful aim Gaara threw it. Sasori had his puppet dodge upward. Gaara smirked. The spear changed direction and followed the pupped. Apparently, Gaara could control the direction of the spear like he could his sand. Sasori had been caught by surprise and didn't move the puppet in time to dodge the spear. Aya frowned as she noticed something. "Gaara's control is better than normal."

Temari nodded, "You see his eyes. That means that a portion of Shukaku is out in the open. I don't understand though. They've never worked together like this before."

Sasori frowned and stepped forward. Gaara grinned, "So the master will fight now. Perfect."

Gaara lifted his hands and the sand moved to his will. Sasori opened his cloak to reveal a large cable in place of his stomach. The end of the cable was a sharp point. Aya stared. Sasori was a puppet. Then how were they suppose to kill him? Kankuro looked over and shouted at Gaara, "Gaara! It's his heart. That thing in his chest is his heart. You'll have to get that to kill him."

Gaara didn't move. His eyes remained on Sasori. The puppet master smirked and the attacks began. The two began dodging around as sand and cable chased their master's enemy. Gaara dodged with a frown. Sasori was good and he was fast. He needed another plan to defeat the puppet master. His eyes scanned the area and a plan began to form. It could work. A glance behind him told him that Kakashi and Kankuro were near winning now. Deidara looked exhausted.

"Gaara!"

Aya's shout had him jumping up. He was lucky he did. The point of the cable slammed into the ground where he'd been standing. It was time to end this once and for all. It would take all the chakra he had but he would do it. His eyes moved to Kankuro who nodded. His brother signaled to Kakashi. The two of them dodged back as far away as they could. Aya and Temari took the hint and followed. Gaara turned to the two akatsuki members. They were both standing across from him. Deidara held a bomb in each hand while Sasori had the cable ready to attack again. Gaara smirked. They didn't know it yet, but they'd walked right into his attack. He held his hands together and began to focus his chakra. Thanks to Deidara's explosions, he had plenty of sand to work with. What he didn't already have, he could create by crumbling rocks. The ground shook and the walls of the cave began to crumble. Sand rose from all around blocking all escape points. Second later it came crashing down on the three fighters. Gaara quickly rose to the surface and pressed his hands down onto the sand. He felt it move beneath his palms to crush downward. For a moment he stayed ready for more attacks just in case one of them had survived. Nothing happened. He relaxed and stood up.

Aya ran forward and threw her arms around him. Gaara held her as relief flooded his system. He sensed the attack coming and knew it was too late. He had no more chakra to fight with. All he could do was make sure Aya wasn't hurt. He shoved her back and placed her inside a sand barrier. Aya sat up and beat on the walls. She knew that meant another attack was coming and that Gaara was about to be hit. She heard someone cry out as the sound of metal piercing flesh echoed in the air. Then there was silence. Aya felt the tears running down her face. The sand melted away and she stared in shock. Gaara was fine.

Her eyes moved to where the cave use to be. Sasori stood there with a sword and two kunai embedded into his heart. Aya looked up at Gaara, "What happened?"

He gestured behind them. She looked and smiled. Sasuke stood there with an empty sheath at his side. Naruto and Sakura were standing just behind him. They walked forward. Naruto gave one of his goofy grins. "We win."

Aya nodded and turned to Gaara. He reached up and placed a hand on her face to wipe the tears away. It was over. They'd won the battle. Gaara felt his muscles begin to shake. He'd used up too much chakra. That last technique always ate into it and he hadn't fully recovered from the attack on the village. Not only that but he'd been cut by one of Sasori's attacks.

He looked at Naruto. "I'm about to pass out." The world began to fade away but Gaara forced himself to stay awake long enough to finish. "Make sure they're both dead."

Naruto nodded, "Right. Team 7 is on it. We'll let your siblings get you and Aya back to Suna."

Gaara closed his eyes and collapsed. Sakura knelt next to him and checked him for serious injuries. It was the look on her face that had Aya panicking again. Sakura looked worried about something. She cut open Gaara's shirt to examine a puncture wound he had in his chest. The concern in Sakura's eyes grew. Aya tried to suppress her rising panic.

"What is it?" Aya demanded. "What's wrong with him?"

"He was stabbed at some point with one of Sasori's weapons. I'm guessing that cable." Sakura looked up at Aya with regret. "There was poison on the weapon and now it's in Gaara. I don't know if we can save him."

Aya stared for a moment then she shook her head in denial. "What are you saying, Sakura? There has to be something we can do. He can't die." Tears began to fall down her face as she slid to her knees. "Please. Do something."

Sakura looked at Aya then turned back to Gaara. "We have to get him back to the village. It will take time but I might be able to do something."

"I'll take Gaara," Kankuro stated as he lifted his brother.

"I'll go back to Suna with them," Sakura informed her team.

Temari looked at Gaara. "I'll stay here and make sure Deidara is really dead."

Aya stumbled a little and Sasuke caught her. He looked at Kakashi, "I'm going to help carry Aya."

"The rest of use will stay here and find Deidara's body then," Kakashi said. He knew Sasuke just wanted to stay close to Sakura. Since they didn't need him to help here, the copy ninja so no reason not to let him go back to Suna.

The moment they returned to Suna, Sakura got to work. She had Gaara moved into a room where she could examine his injury. Aya stood to the side and watch anxiously. Gaara looked like he was in pain. The medics had to cut his shirt off so they had access to his wound. Sakura began checking his symptoms so that she could identify the poison. The Konoha medic finally stood and explained the situation to the other medics in the room. Aya had no idea what half of the explanation meant. What she did understand was that Gaara was poisoned with something and that Sakura wasn't sure she could come up with an antidote in time to save him.

"Please," Aya whispered. "Please save him."

Sakura glanced over at her and then back to the Suna medics. "I'll need some items. The method is crude but it's the only way."

"Aya!"

She turned to see Baki running up to her. Aya offered him a shaky smile. "Hello, Baki."

"I just heard. How is he?"

"I don't know." Aya looked back at Gaara. "I don't know."

"He'll need to be held down," Sakura stated after a bowl of medical liquid was brought in for her. "This procedure won't be easy on him."

The other medics, Sasuke, and Kankuro held Gaara down. Baki moved over to help. Aya stayed out of the way and just watched. Sakura held the sphere of liquid over Gaara's chest, and then pressed it into his body. Gaara cried out in pain and tried to get up. The liquid began to come out the wound, carrying a purplish-black liquid inside. This procedure was repeated several times. Each time put Gaara though pain and Aya got to the point where she could barely stand to watch. This didn't stop Sakura. She wanted to get as much of the poison out as possible. Sweat trickled down Sakura's face and her eyes were focused entirely on the task at hand. Once she had as much of the poison out as possible, she sat up with relief.

"He's finally out of immediate danger but there still some poison in his system." Sakura turned to the medics around her. "It's time to make the antidote."

Aya stepped over to the bed and took Gaara's hand. He was still unconscious but he seemed more relaxed. She reached up and touched his face. His skin had cooled some but he still had a fever. Aya climbed onto the bed with him and laid next to him. She was so tired. One of the medics noticed that her palms were injured and treated them Aya allowed it as long as he didn't require her to leave Gaara's side. Her hands were bandaged and a change of clothes was brought for her. She showered and dressed then returned to Gaara's side. All she could do now was wait to see if Sakura could find a cure for Gaara.

Sakura came in around dawn and woke Gaara to give him medicine. He fell asleep again just seconds later. Aya, who had moved out of Sakura's way, returned to his side.

"Alright, that's it. At this point, all we can do is wait and pray," Sakura said. She stepped back and nearly fell. Sasuke was there and caught her with ease. She smiled up at him as he steadied her again. "Thanks, Sasuke. I used more chakra than I originally thought."

He merely lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the room. She complained a little about not being an invalid and Sasuke didn't need to carry her. He ignored her.

Aya laid down next to Gaara. They'd done all they could. He didn't look any better. Aya laid a hand over his heart so she could feel the reassuring beat against her palm. He would be alright. He had to be alright. "Please be alright," she whispered as she fell into sleep.

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That's a wrap. All finished for now. I'll get to work on the next chapter. I'm thinking about just ending the story or continuing until all the Akatsuki is dead or converted...Hmmmm....why don't you guys let me know what you think and majority vote will win. Sound good? Good. Until the next chapter.


	15. Then and Now

It's finished. Alright. This chapter is a tribute to my romantic nature. I've also decided to finish off the Akatsuki, one way or another, before ending the story. If you have any preferences for how a particular akatsuki member should turn out, let me know and I'll take it into consideration.

There is bad new. It will be a while before I can update again. I have several tests coming up and final exams are the first week of december. Meaning I have to study study study. Did I mention i have to study? Anyways, I apologize ahead of time.

Disclaimer: we all know already. I don't own Naruto...just Aya and other made up characters.

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**Ch. 15: Then and Now**

His eyes opened slowly and then he blinked at the white ceiling above him. He shifted and felt something next to him. When he looked, he saw her. She was sleeping. Her hand laid over his heart as if keeping track of his life even in her sleep. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the bandages on that hand. She'd been hurt because of him. It was his fault that for a moment, she'd been exposed to the shinobi way of life. A life she chose not to take.

"So, you're awake," a calm voice said from the doorway. Gaara looked up to see Sasuke walk in. The Uchiha had changed in the last few years. He'd become...softer and warmer towards others. He was was still distant but not unapproachable anymore. Those dark eyes focused on Gaara and then looked at Aya. "Once she woke up she came here and wouldn't leave."

"Sounds like her," Gaara said. Gently, so he wouldn't wake her, he got out of the bed. There was a bandage over his chest. He frowned. When had that injury happened? Gaara shook his head and put on his shirt. His eyes moved over to Sasuke. "How long have I been out?"

"A week. We were all starting to get a little concerned." Sasuke leaned against the doorway.

Gaara met his gaze. "Did you want something, Sasuke?"

"Yes. I know how you think since I think the same way."

"I know that. What's your point?"

"I just figured I'd give you a friendly piece of advice. Don't push her away, Gaara." Sasuke's gaze intensified a little. "You'll feel guilt for what happened and want to blame yourself. To atone for that guilt you'll want to push her away so that she'll be safe. Aya would be hurt more by that than by anything the anyone could do to her."

Gaara looked at Aya.

"I'd feel the same if it were mine." The Uchiha turned. "I just wanted to say that to you. I knew the thought would come to mind and wanted to make sure you didn't go through with it."

"Why? She'd be safer away from me."

Sasuke's eyes turned distant. As if he was remembering something. "I've pushed people who loved me away before. Even now, I can still remember the look in her eyes when I walked away from her. There was so much pain." A pair of tear filled emerald eyes came too mind instantly. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder. "I don't want you to have to spend the rest of your life remembering that look. Feeling guilt for putting unspeakable pain in Aya's eyes."

Gaara considered Sasuke carefully. If anyone would understand this, he would. Gaara nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Sasuke."

The Uchiha nodded and stepped out of the room.

Gaara sat on the bed next to Aya. With a gentle shake, he woke her. Aya always woke slowly. It took her a moment to get her bearings and remember why she was there. Once she did, Aya jumped up and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're alright. I was so scared, Gaara. You could have died and it would have been my fault."

He held her and waited for her to calm down again. "Aya, I don't think I'll ever understand you."

"What is there to understand?" she asked.

"Why do you care so much about me?"

She tilted her head and smiled in amusement. "You mean you don't know? Gaara, I've made no attempt to hide it and you're an intelligent person. How do you not know?" Her eyes met his. "I love you."

His eyes widened in shock. "No one can love me," he said automatically. "I'm a monster."

Aya sighed and stood. She tugged him up and dragged him out of the hospital. Gaara knew they they were heading towards to her clan's compound. What he wanted to know what why? He'd expected her to be angry with him for still believing he was a monster. Gaara acknowledged that he had changed but he couldn't deny one fact. Shukaku still lived inside him. He was still a monster deep down.

"Here. Look at this painting," Aya ordered.

Gaara came out of his thoughts to see that he was in Aya's room. Hanging on the wall was a painting of him from when they first met. He remembered sitting through those sketches. Aya had apparently turned the sketch into a painting and it was a very good one. The color was brilliant and somehow she'd captured his haunted expression. Hatred and pain burned in his eyes with such intensity that he wondered how Aya hadn't felt fear knowing him then. A desire to kill seemed to emanate from the painting with terrifying strength. But there was something else too. There was a sense of...longing. A desire for things that he didn't think he could have.

"This is very good, Aya, but I dont' get why you're showing me this."

She walked over to her stand with a painting sitting on it. Aya pulled the cover off and allowed Gaara to see her latest work. The painting was of him again only he was older. Gaara could tell she'd done this recently. Within the last year at least. He looked at her with some confusion.

"Look carefully, Gaara," she ordered. "You're not the same now."

He turned his attention back to the painting. The more he looked the more he realized that she was right. His eyes were the biggest difference. They were, warmer in this painting. The pain had lessened and the hatred was gone entirely. There was even a small smile in those eyes. The longing was still an undertone of the painting but it was somehow less. The desire to kill wasn't even hinted at anymore. He seemed...content rather than angry or sad.

Gaara looked over at Aya. "That isn't right."

"Yes it is. Gaara, you've changed." Aya smiled as she took his face in her hands. "This is what I see when I look at you now. While I don't believe you were ever a monster, you are definitely not one now. A monster wouldn't have risked his life to save mine."

Gaara closed his eyes. "Aya...You could have been killed because of me. I should push you away so you'll be safe."

She snorted, "Good luck with that. I won't make it easy."

He grinned, knowing she was right. Aya could be very stubborn when it suited her needs. "I said should but I won't. I can't. I..." He opened his eyes as he realized something for the first time. "...I need you."

Aya smiled, "I know. Now, let's go find Temair and Kankuro. They'll what to see that you're alright. Not to mention Naruto."

Gaara allowed her to tug him behind her as she led him through the village. Something was different now. There was something there was hadn't been there before. Or maybe it had been there all along and he was just now noticing it. What it was, he couldn't be sure. It felt good though. Warm and comforting. He may not know what it was, but he did know that it wasn't going away and it would get stronger. With each moment he spent with Aya the feeling would get stronger until it dominated everything else. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Aya."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Hmmm?"

"Thank you. For everything."

Her eyes widened in surprise then she smiled warmly. "It's what friends do, Gaara. Not only that, but you matter to me more than anyone. Making you happy is my goal in life at the moment."

The village was a mess. It would take at least a month to clean it up. Kakashi's and Guy's teams both stayed to help Suna repair damage. Aya stayed close to Gaara through the entire time to make sure he didn't push himself too much. Sakura had informed her that Gaara would be recovering for weeks from using so much chakra. The poison had also caused quite a bit of damage to his body and that would take time to repair. Gaara didn't question Aya when she ordered him to rest. It was easier for both of them that way. Besides, if he did question her Aya would probably beat him until he had no choice but to rest.

"Gaara," Naruto called out.

Gaara looked over. It had been nearly a month since the Akatsuki's attack and the Leaf shinobi were all preparing to leave soon. Naruto seemed excited to return home. Gaara was willing to bet it had something to do with a certain kunoichi from the Hyuga clan. Apparently, Neji had gotten tired of Hinata being so shy and told Naruto how she felt about him. Naruto's response had been to hug Hinata and demand why she hadn't just told him. The two had been dating since. Hinata still wasn't sure if she wanted to beat or thank her cousin.

"What is it?" he asked Naruto.

"We're leaving in the morning." Naruto grinned, "Just in time too. Hinata's birthday is coming up and I have to be there for that."

Gaara nodded and looked back down at Suna. He was standing on the cliff above it. It wasn't abnormal. This was where he went to think. Right now, he wasn't thinking. He was just...looking. All these years and changes and he still couldn't see the world Aya did. It still looked like Suna to him. Not the dream world she'd painted him nearly four years ago.

"Speaking of birthdays, we all left a present for Aya's birthday," Naruto informed the Kazekage. "It's in a week right."

Gaara nodded slowly. "She'll be sixteen."

"What are you getting her?"

"I don't know yet. I got her a sketch pad last year."

"Should probably go with something different. Besides, you really should give her something more meaningful."

The Kazekage looked at Naruto in confusion. "Why?"

Naruto smacked his forehead. "And they say I'm slow. Because she means something to you, Gaara."

Gaara nodded, "I know. She was the first person to see me and to care. Aya is my first and closest friend."

"That's not what I mean," Naruto snapped in exasperation. "Sure all that is important but it's more than that. You love her."

Gaara blinked. "What?"

Naruto suddenly laughed, "You should...see your face," he managed between laughs. "I've...never seen you...so confused."

His eyes narrowed, "Naruto, if you don't explain I'm going to throw you off this cliff."

"It's simple. You love her."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you risked your life for her."

"So did you and the rest of your team."

"You also worry about her and get upset if anyone makes her unhappy," Naruto continued. "Just looking at her makes you happy. I bet you even get a warm and comforting feeling when she's around. It's written all over your face. The only person more gone over a girl than you is Sasuke." Naruto thought about it for a moment. "I take that back. You two are about even."

Gaara looked back at the village. Could it be possible? Was he even capable of love? He thought of the two painting Aya had done of him. In the first one, he'd been cold and uncaring. Maybe then, he'd been unable to love. Some part of him had always wanted it but hadn't known how. Now, he still didn't know what love was, but people who didn't know fell in love all the time. Perhaps no one really knew what love was until they were in love. The newest painting flashed through his mind. That one was capable of loving another. He did love now after all. Gaara had just never considered being in love.

"Then and now," he whispered.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he tilted his head.

"Then I was a monster, incapable of love. You would understand that."

Naruto's eyes turned serious. "Yeah. Anyone containing a tailed-beast would. We're all treated the same after all."

Gaara nodded. "That's not the case now. For either of us. Both of us have...changed for the better. But I don't know, Naruto. Are jinchuriki capable of love?"

"Of course we are, Gaara. We're still human," Naruto stated with conviction.

The Kazekage nodded, "Yeah. We're still human." His eyes moved to Naruto. "So me and Sasuke aren't the only ones gone on a girl as you put it."

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "No. You're not." He met Gaara's eyes. "So, you gonna tell her?"

Gaara shook his head. "Not yet. I want the Akatsuki taken care of before I do anything else. Aya was nearly killed because of her connection to me. I don't want to give them more reason to use her to get to me."

"Aya is strong, Gaara. She did practically save herself," Naruto pointed out. "Sasuke and me have to worry about the same things, remember."

Gaara gave Naruto a look. "You and I both know that Sasuke hasn't told Sakura how he feels about her and he probably will never say it."

"She knows though. He doesn't have to say it."

"There is also one major difference between Sakura and Aya or even Hinata and Aya. Sakura and Hinata are both kunoichi trained to fight. Aya is a civilian, Naruto. If the Akatsuki decide to kill her, she won't be able to stop them. Delay them, sure, but not stop them."

Naruto could only nod in agreement. "I guess you're right. I still think you should tell her though."

"Not until the Akatsuki are all dead," Gaara stated. "And they will die, Naruto. I will make each and every one of them pay for what they did to her."

"Yeah, I figured that. Sasuke still wants to hunt down Itachi too." Naruto looked out at Suna. "I promised to help him."

"You have Suna's loyalty with that," Gaara stated.

Naruto nodded. "Then and now, huh?"

Gaara nodded. "Aya had two paintings of me. In one I'm twelve and in the other I'm sixteen. One it _Then_ the other is _Now_. For all of us there is a then and now."

Naruto thought about it and agreed. "Yeah. We were all different people then." Naruto grinned. "I think I like now better. Things are finally going right."

"I wonder how long that will last," was Gaara's reply.

"Now don't be so pessimistic. You sound like Sasuke." Naruto glared at him and then turned. "I'm going to get some sleep. See you in the morning."

Gaara took one last look at Suna. Then he couldn't see Aya's world. Now, maybe he was seeing a glimpse of it. His eyes moved to the Hayashi compound. Aya would be in her room either painting or sleeping. She was probably painting. Putting her world on canvass for someone else to admire and dream about. She had a gift for capturing dreams and making the world seem much better than anyone thought it could be.

"She paints dreams," he said to himself. Gaara shook his head. "She's rubbing off on me. I'm getting fanciful." He summoned a sand cloud and lowered himself down the cliff. "Naruto's right though. I'm in love with her. I wonder when that happened?" He thought about it and couldn't pin the moment down. Probably because it hadn't been in a moment. It had been all of them. Every moment spent with her had softened his heart until she held it in her hands. It was ironic that of all the people in the world, this young girl, who wasn't even a shinobi, had been the one to tame him. "My father would die of shock. The monster of Suna has a heart after all and it took a civilian to prove it."

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That's it for now. I'll try to update asap but no promises. The studying.


	16. The Return

So sorry it took so long but I finally have the next chapter ready. It's a little shorter than normal because that just seemed too perfect of an ending and I couldn't help myself. I'll work really hard to get the next chapter up quickly.

Oh, before I forget, insert the usual disclaimer here.

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**Ch. 16: The Return**

Aya walked through the village feeling a little sad. That wasn't normal for her. Aya usually always found a reason to be happy. The smallest thing could make her happy. Today should be perfect. It was a bright day with a blue skies and white puffy clouds. Flowers grew all around her and children laughed as they played. The smell of spring was in the air, tingling her senses. But none of it made her smile. It was her sixteenth birthday and Gaara had forgotten. Not only him but everyone. That was just pathetic.

"I need to find new friends," she grumbled to herself. How could they just forget like that? It all started this morning when she'd gone to see Gaara....

_//////////Flashback//////////_

"_Good morning Gaara," Aya greeted cheerfully._

_He glanced up and saw her coming. His eyes warmed noticeably as he finished locking his door. "Aya."_

"_Whatcha doin'?"_

"_Going to work. As Kazekage I have a lot to do today."_

_The cheer in her eyes dimmed a little. "Oh...how long will you be working today?"_

"_Probably all day," he replied as if not seeing the dejected look in her eyes. "The attack from the Akatsuki left me with a lot of paperwork."_

_She sighed. "I see. You can't even take an hour for today?"_

"_No. The only way I could get out of my duties today is if it was of great importance. Today isn't any different from any other day so I'll spend it working."_

_Aya jerked a little as if she'd been slapped. Her blue-green eyes held hurt, but she managed a smile anyway. "Alright then. I guess I'll see you later."_

"_Is something wrong, Aya?" he asked her curiously._

_She shook her head. "No, Gaara. Every thing's fine. You go take care of Suna. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and rushed off before he could question her further._

_//////////End Flashback//////////_

Her meetings with everyone else was pretty much the same. They'd all forgotten. Aya sighed. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't even bring herself to want to paint. For most of the day she sat on the cliffs Gaara went to frequently and stared out at Suna. Her mind wondered around and she became unaware of her surroundings. When the light began to fade as the sun set, Aya finally stood and made her way through the village. For once, she didn't get lost as she walked home. Nothing caught her eye so she was actually paying attention to her surroundings.

Aya turned into her clan's compound with another sad sigh. How could they all just forget her birthday like that? She stepped inside and nearly jumped out of her skin as a large group of people shouted, "SURPRISE!!!!" Aya looked around and found herself smiling as she looked around in shock. They were all there. Kankuro, Temari, her clan, Baki, Hana, and.....Gaara. She felt her heart do a quick jig in her chest as she looked at him. He was there. For Gaara, that meant something.

"Well...I didn't expect this," she managed when she could speak again.

"That was kinda the point," Kankuro stated. "It doesn't make a very good surprise party if you expect it."

She laughed, "I guess not."

"Now," Temari said as she threw an arm around Aya's shoulders. "You didn't really think we'd forget your birthday, did you?"

Aya shook her head and told one of the biggest lies of her life. "Not for a moment."

There was a round of laughters because Aya wasn't a good liar. Music began to play and dancing began. Aya made her way over to Gaara. "Hey, you guys had me worried for a while."

"Kankuro's idea."

She chuckled. "I should have known." Aya looked up at him and grinned. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor. "Come on, Gaara. Time to loosen up."

"What?" he demanded in shock and confusion. "I don't...."

"Don't worry. Just relax and let the music tell you how," she informed him.

Gaara found himself dancing with Aya, and he didnt' have any clue how it had happened. He almost pulled away but changed his mind. It was her birthday. He couldn't bring himself to do anything that would upset her now. Not after they had all made her day miserable by pretending to forget. Gaara let her show him the basics and led her through a single dance before someone else cut in. That was a relief. Needless to say, Gaara didn't have much practice dancing. He looked around and saw that Kankuro was talking with Hana, Aya's childhood friend. From what he could tell, Hana had a huge crush on Kankuro and she wasn't good at hiding it. Gaara's brother was taking a great deal of delight in teasing her and pretending not to notice. His eyes scanned over the rest of the people. Some were dancing with lovers, others were laughing and talking with friends. Aya's party was a hit.

Temari came into the room carrying a cake. "Alright everyone, Aya's mother made this and it's time to get it circulating. Before that though, Aya has to blow out the candles. And after that, we can get her to open presents."

Aya walked over to the cake. A warm and happy smile was plastered on her face as she looked at the cake. Gaara felt his lips curve a little. No one but his siblings and Aya would notice the smile. Normal people might not even call it that but they knew. For Gaara, it was a smile.

Aya thought about it for a moment before settling on a wish. She blew out the candles and everyone cheered. Presents began to get handed to her. She opened them with excitement and found herself floating on cloud nine with happiness. Her parents had gotten her brand new paint brushes that came with a beautiful box to place them in. Engraved on the platinum box was her name. Aya could barely contain the urge to go and test out her knew brushes. There would be time for that later. First, the rest of the presents.

Kankuro handed her his. She found herself looking into the box with a wide smile. He'd gotten her pictures of all her friends. They were even in frames for her to hang on her walls or set on shelves. Kankuro had even gotten pictures of her friends from Konoha. Aya jumped up and hugged him enthusiastically. Temari was next as she handed her a bag. Aya opened it up and let out a small gasped before saying, "Awww, it's so cute." She pulled out the stuffed animal that resembled Shukaku. She saw several traits that reminded her of Gaara, especially the sea green eyes that gazed up at her.

"It resembles Gaara's Shukaku form. Only I had it made into something cute. No offense to him but Shukaku isn't that great looking. The toy maker managed to change that with the toy," Temari stated.

Aya smiled, "He did good. It's adorable. Thanks."

She set the stuffed Shukaku next to her and turned for the next present. She received various other presents from everyone ranging from art supplies to books to clothing. Soon she had opened all but one present. It was small and no name was on it. Still, she knew from the stiffening of his body who'd given it to her. Aya slowly opened the box. Gaara rarely gave anyone a present. Last year was the first time he'd gotten her anything and that was before he knew she loved him. She could hear and feel her heart pounding in her chest, Aya wasn't sure if she was nervous or excited. Maybe a little of both. The lid came off and Aya gasped in surprise. A necklace sat inside. The star pendant was made of one of the most beautiful gems she'd ever seen. The light had the stone glittering blue-green and she found herself getting lost in it.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

Gaara relaxed a little. He'd had Temari help him pick out a gift for Aya. What did he know about presents? In his entire life, Aya had been the only one to give him one. So when he found himself trying to decide what to get for Aya, he'd gone to Temari for help. His sister had taken him out immediately and he found himself shopping. He never, absolutely never, wanted to do that again. But...the smile on Aya's face did make his suffering worth it.

She looked at him with a big smile. Aya didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. The party went on well into the night. Finally, people began leaving to get some much needed sleep. Gaara was the last to make his way towards the door. Aya's clan had already made their way to bed, leaving only Aya and him up. She hugged him tightly. "Thank you for the necklace, Gaara."

He gave her one of his rare smiles. Without really thinking about it, he almost reached up to touch her but remembered that he was still keeping some distance between them. His hand dropped "I'm going home now. Tomorrow I really will have to spend most of the day working."

Aya laughed. "I know. Thank you for being here, Gaara. It meant a lot to me."

Gaara nodded and turned to walk away. Aya's eyes widened as she saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. She reached up and took his face in her hands to get a better look. He looked surprised to find himself face to face with her. She blinked at him and then smiled slowly. Gaara wondered what she saw that made her so happy. Aya never told him. She simply released him and said, "Good night, Gaara."

He walked away with a frown. Now what in the world had that been about? He'd said it before and he'd say it again. "I will never understand her."

Weeks seemed to just fly by. Gaara noticed that Aya's head was in the clouds more than normal. Ever since her birthday, she'd been practically overfilling with happiness. Then again, maybe that was normal. Aya was normally a cheerful person. He could just be over analyzing her actions. Aya did go through period of extreme happiness after all.

"Hello, Gaara."

Speak of the devil. He turned and couldn't help the smile. Aya was running up to him waving. Her dark hair was pulled back into braid, and he saw paint speckles on her hands and clothes. She'd been painting recently. Come to think of it. She'd been painting a lot recently. Aya slid to a stop in front of him and tried to catch her breath.

"I was afraid I wouldn't catch you," she said between breaths.

"You're lost again," Gaara stated.

She looked up at him sheepishly. "No. Of course not."

He shook his head at her. "You're a terrible liar."

"I know," she admitted easily. "Where are you going?"

Gaara opened his mouth to respond, but a hyperactive blond from Konoha interrupted him. They heard Naruto's shouted, "Gaara!" from all the way across the village.

Aya laughed. "Some things never change. Let's go see what he wants."

Gaara nodded in agreement and led the way to the village gates. There Naruto stood with a big, goofy grin. "What do you want, Naruto?" Gaara asked without preamble.

"It's official. I'm going to be the next Hokage of Konoha," Naruto informed them. Excitement was in ever gesture and word he said.

"You came all this way just to tell us that? We already knew you would be," Gaara replied with a tired sigh. Just looking at Naruto exhausted him. Just where did this boy get all that energy?

"But it wasn't official. Now it is."

Aya chuckled and gave Naruto a hug. "Congratulations, Naruto."

"Thanks, Aya."

"Is that the only reason you're here?" Gaara asked Naruto. For some reason he couldn't believe Naruto came all this way just to tell them that.

Naruto turned serious. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a mind reader, Gaara?"

"No."

"You're as bad as Sasuke," the blond grumbled. "We found the Akatsuki's hide out. Konoha is preparing to attack. Lady Tsunade is sending messangers to every village to see if they want to participate."

"When?" Gaara demanded.

"In a month. We wanted time to prepare and mobilize."

The Kazekage nodded. "Suna will be prepared."

Naruto nodded. "I'll let the hokage know."

Aya had stood to the side quietly. She was scared. What if Gaara got hut? The Akatsuki wanted him and Naruto after all. This could be a trap. They could all die. Aya shook her head. She couldn't let herself think like that. Gaara would be fine. He had Shukaku and the sand. Nothing could beat him.

Gaara and Naruto left to go talk with the Suna Council. Aya sighed and began walking aimlessly. Eventually, she wondered outside the village and found herself standing in front of the cave she'd been kept prisoner in by Sasori. Out of curiosity, Aya made her way inside. She looked around and saw nothing. She frowned. Deidara's body had been found and returned to his village to deal with as they saw fit. That should have left Sasori. Aya walked over to the spot where the puppet master had been standing last.

After her kidnapping, Aya got Sasori's full story from his grandmother, Kankuro's teacher. Sasori had been a lonely boy, much like Gaara. The difference being why they were lonely. Sasori had lost his parents while he'd been a child. Aya couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose anyone in her family and she didn't want to find out. That kind of pain might be unbearable.

"No wonder he turned bad," she grumbled as she looked for signs of the rogue shinobi of the Red Sand. "What else could happen when he carried around that kind of pain day in and day out." She glared at the cave. "Where is he? Dead people don't just walk away."

"No but they do get carried away by fellow Akatsuki members."

Aya froze and her heart began to pound in her chest. Her mind screamed a denial of what she'd just heard. There was no way in hell. He was dead. She saw it with her own eyes. The voice behind her couldn't be his. It just couldn't.

The voice behind her continued. "Then a little jutsu using a little chakra from the two tailed cat and the dead person can be brought back to life."

Slowly, Aya turned to face her worse nightmare. "Sasori Akasun."

He smirked. "Hello Ayame Hayashi."

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That's it for now. Like I said, I'll work really hard to get the next one up. I had a lot of people tell me they liked the way I used Sasori in the last Gaara story I wrote so I figured, why not, and brought him back. Could be interesting. Until the next chapter...


	17. Not Again

I have finished this one. I'll get the next one up as soon as possible. Until next time.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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**Ch. 17: Not Again**

"You're village should have destroyed my body while they had the chance," Sasori informed her.

Aya began to tremble and she couldn't look away from him. Did this guy never die? She took a step in retreat. Sasori didn't move. He just kept watching her. When she'd finally had enough silence, Aya shouted, "What do you want from me?"

He walked forward slowly. Aya used all her will power to keep herself from running. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Sasori seemed amused with this. As if to test her will power, he reached up and pressed fingers to her forehead. Then she realized something. The fingers on her forehead weren't the fingers of a puppet. They were real. She looked up at him in surprise.

"You're...real."

He dropped his hand. "A side effect of being brought back to life. Easily taken care of."

"Why would you want to take care of it?" she asked curiously. "What's wrong with being human?"

Sasori glared at her. "Human's are weak and pathetic. Relying too much on others to fulfill their lives. Even your Kazekage depends on others. The very people that hated and shunned him are now his reason for living. As a puppet, I need no one."

Aya frowned. "There's nothing wrong with depending on others."

"That thinking is what makes you an easy target for the Akatsuki. Look around you. Those you depend on aren't here to save you now." Sasori grinned. "You're trapped this time."

"I was afraid of that," Aya grumbled.

"Aren't you afraid?" Sasori asked with some confusion. This girl didn't respond to life threatening situations in the normal way.

Aya considered his question and shook her head. "Nope. I was at first, but that was because I thought you were dead. Gave me a little bit of a shock. That's gone now though.

"You should be afraid for your life, Ayame."

"It's Aya, and what good would being afraid do me? Would you let me go if I was scared?" When he shook his head, she shrugged, "Then why be afraid? I won't give you that satisfaction." Aya glared. "Though, I am annoyed with myself. Bad guys have kidnapped me once already and what do I do? I wonder out of the village. Brilliant Aya. Really should receive an award for that one. Something like the 'Getting into Life Threatening Situations Through Stupidity Award'."

Sasori tilted his head. "You're a strange girl."

"I know. I've been told that before. Gaara is always telling me he'll never understand me." Aya chuckled a little. "I don't even understand myself sometimes."

He stepped forward again. "Well, It's time to take you to Amegakure."

Aya frowned. "Why are we going to the Village Hidden in Rain?"

"That's our home." Sasori smirked. "You've just been kidnapped again, Ayame."

"Call me Aya," she said again absently. Her mind was racing through the possibilities. As far as she could tell, there was no way out. All she could do was cooperate. With an annoyed sigh, she said, "Fine. I suppose there's no choice right now."

Sasori's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're not going to fight?"

"I'm not a fighter, and I'm certainly not dumb enough to think I could beat a well trained shinobi like you." Aya smiled ruefully, "Out running you really isn't an option either. It was pure luck that I escaped the last time."

"It seems you don't need help after all, Sasori," a new voice stated.

Aya looked past Sasori to see a man with silver hair slicked back from his face. His eyes were an unusual shade of purple and held an arrogance of a man who knew he couldn't be beat. Like Sasori, he wore the Akatsuki cloak and his village's headband with a slash through it. This man also wore a strange necklace. The pendant was a circle with an upside down triangle in it.

Next to the silver haired man was another Akatsuki member. This one was almost entirely covered from head to toe by clothing. He wore a hood on his head and a mask covered the lower half of his face. The masked man was taller than both of the other members. His eyes were just as unusual, if not more so, than the guy with silver hair. "Do you still want us to travel with you?"

Sasori considered Aya for a moment. "Yes. She's a tricky one and I don't want any mistakes. We need Shukaku and she is the best way to get the beast."

"I can't believe you think this little girl is going to give us trouble," the silver haired man said with a sneer. "She's not even a shinobi."

Aya gave them her sweetest smile. "Of course I'm not going to give you trouble. I want to live."

She saw the masked man consider her just as Sasori had. "Don't underestimate others, Hidan," the masked mans told the man with silver hair. "Or have you forgotten how many time's you've lost your head because of underestimating an opponent?"

Hidan looked at the masked guy in shock. "You're taking her seriously, Kakuzu? Really? A little girl? A civilian?"

Aya took a step away from them and considered running anyway. She looked at each of them and forced herself not to move another inch. If they developed a false sense of security, maybe she'd have a chance later. She looked at them and wondered what they would do now.

"Are you going to come peacefully girl?" the one called Kakuzu asked.

"I said I wouldn't give you trouble as long as my life was on the line," she replied calmly.

His eyes narrowed. "You were right, Sasori. She doesn't respond to danger in the normal way. Does she had a kekkei genkai or something?"

"No. Her clan is one of the most skilled in the village but there is no kekkei genkai that anyone is aware of."

Aya really wished they wouldn't talk about her like she wasn't there. It was annoying. "I don't have a kekkei genkai," she told them. "It's just practicality. Fear won't do me any good right now so why bother?" She walked towards them and stopped in front of Sasori. Her eyes met his. "By the way, I'm cooperating for now. But if you think for one moment that I'm going to let you use me against Gaara, you're sadly mistaken."

"We'll see," Sasori stated.

They all froze when they heard a female voice call out, "Hey, Aya. Are you here?"

Aya's eyes widened in fear. Temari. "No! Don't come here! Run, Temari!" she screamed before Sasori could stop her. It didn't matter. Kakuzu moved very fast and before the wind mistress knew what was happening, Kakuzu was behind her with an arm around her throat.

"What do we do with her?" Hidan demanded.

"Kill her," Kakuzu stated.

Aya's mind moved at lightening speed. "No! Don't!"

"And why not?" Hidan said with a wicked grin.

"Because she's Gaara's sister," she said quickly. "Why have only one hostage when you can have two?"

"It's easier to guard only one prisoner," Kakuzu replied as he considered what she said.

"Surely the three of you are enough for two girls, one of which isn't even a shinobi," Aya said with growing fear. What if he killed Temari anyway? She couldn't let that happen. "Or are we really that difficult to handle."

Kakuzu and Sasori exchanged a glance. Kakuzu nodded and began taking Temari's weapons. Aya let out a relieved breath. They weren't going to kill her friend. Kakuzu shoved Temari over to Aya. The wind mistress met Aya's eyes. "What is going on?"

"We're being kidnapped," Aya told her cheerfully. "Isn't it great?"

"Aya, something is wrong with you. How is being kidnapped good?" Temari demanded.

"We aren't being killed. I was scared for a moment there."

Temari looked at Aya in disbelief. "I don't think I want to live in your world anymore. It sounds a little on the crazy side."

"I know. But we're alive and that is always good." Aya looked around them at the Akatsuki members. "Alive means we're not done yet. We still have a chance."

Understanding filled Temari. Aya wasn't happy about being kidnapped. She was happy that they were still alive to escape later. She nodded in agreement. "Right."

"Let's go you two," Hidan snapped out. "I want to get this over with. As far as I'm concerned we're babysitting."

Aya and Temari walked between them. The artist quickly learned quite a bit about the men around her. Hidan and Kakuzu spent a great deal of time bickering. She shook her head at them frequently. Those two were like children. The girls stayed close to Sasori, the only one that didn't creep them out on some level. He also became their protector when Kakuzu lost his temper. It was perhaps on the fourth day when Hidan had crossed some line in the sand with his commentary on Kakuzu's bad habits. Kakuzu turned to Hidan and growled, "That's it." This growl was immediately followed by an attack.

Sasori grabbed Aya and jumped away. Temari followed his example and jumped away with them. Aya let out a squeak of surprise and closed her eyes. Once she felt the ground beneath her feet again, Aya opened her eyes and looked around. Her eyes focused on Hidan and she had to swallow a scream. He was headless and yet his body was still standing. Not only that, but his head was talking...well complaining.

"What the hell did you do that for, you hot tempered asshole?" Hidan's head demanded of Kakuzu. "Reattach me to my body already."

"Serves you right," Kakuzu snapped out. "I should leave you like that." Despite what he said, Kakuzu did place Hidan's head back on his body and reattached it.

"He was headless," Aya whispered so she wouldn't scream. "Shouldn't he be dead?"

Sasori looked at her. "So you can' be scared."

"No. Just freaked out. Headless people should be dead. Dead people shouldn't be able to talk."

"Kakuzu, Hidan," a new voice came out of no where. Aya spun around and saw a man...well, not a man. He looked remarkably like a plant. The plant man continued, "We need you two to deal with some shinobi near by. Pain said to let Sasori handle the girls."

Kakuzu frowned, "I don't know that we should leave him alone with them. One of them isn't normal."

"Pain's orders," the plant stated.

"Alright, Zetsu. We'll take care of it."

Hidan's grin was pure evil. "Finally, a fight. I've missed the smell of blood and sounds of screams."

Aya shuddered. "Okay. Maybe that one scares me. He's insane."

Hidan turned that smile on her. "See. She is normal after all."

Hidan and Kakuzu walked away and the plant man vanished. This left Aya and Temari alone with Sasori Akasuna. They looked up at the puppet master. He met their gaze. Aya wished she knew what he was thinking. The Red Sand seemed off and had since he'd found her in that cave. It was almost like he was fighting with himself. Sasori looked away from her and kept walking. Aya considered just staying there or turning to run away. She sighed and continued walking. He was faster and stronger than she was. Her only option at the moment was to see what would happen next.

"Come," he ordered. He turned away but Aya had caught a glimpse of something in his eyes.

"You're in pain," she commented without thinking.

He spun around. "What?" he growled. "I'm not in pain. I feel nothing."

Aya took a step back and held up her hands. "My bad. I just thought I saw pain in your eyes. Ignore me."

Temari stepped between Aya and Sasori. Her eyes burned with rage. "Don't you dare scare her. It's not her fault that you actually have feelings now. Maybe you should try dealing with them rather than being a coward and getting rid of them this time," she snapped out. Almost as an afterthought, she added, "Jerk."

Aya looked between them and sighed. Those two were not going to get along. She hoped they got a chance to escape soon. Otherwise, Sasori and Temari might kill each other.

Sasori looked up at the sun and saw that it was beginning to set. "We'll set up camp here."

The girls nodded and began the process of preparing for the night. Later, Aya stared into the fire. Absently, she asked, "Why did you join the Akatsuki, Sasori?"

"Why not?" he replied with the shrug. "I had no reason not to join."

"Sure you did." She didn't see his surprise as she kept staring into the fire. "You cared about your grandmother. And your parents. They were loyal to Suna. Aren't they the reason you were so lonely and sad? Does working for the Akatsuki honor their memory or something?"

"That's none of your concern," he snapped out. What was with this girl? How did she see what others couldn't? Even Pain hadn't realized how much agony Sasori's emotions were causing him. Yet this girl, who wasn't even a shinobi saw it. Not only that, but she saw the cause. "You should be more concerned about your friends. They're walking into a trap."

Aya's head came up and her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Konoha has recently received information on the location of the Akatsuki base. It's wrong." Sasori looked between two girls. "They'll be ambushed by our people."

"Then why kidnap us," Aya demanded. "Gaara and Naruto are both going to be at the attack."

"We'll use you and the fox's girl to lure the away from the others," Sasori replied at he watched her. He still couldn't figure Aya out. When it was her own life on the line, she didn't seem concerned. But when Temari's or Gaara's life was in danger, she was terrified.

Aya stared at Sasori. "Why? Why do you want to hurt Gaara? Hasn't he suffered enough?"

"Everyone suffers," Sasori replied as he stood up to pace. "Life is full of tragedy and pain. Gaara knows that better than anyone."

Temari's eyes narrowed. The puppet master seemed to be having problems. His eyes were troubled and filled with pain. The wind mistress decided it was time for a little talking of her own, and Sasori wasn't going to like it. She wasn't worried. Temari could hold her own. So, she stood and placed her hands on her hips. "What? Can't handle you're own problems so you hurt others?"

His head jerked up and his eyes met hers.

Aya looked up at her friend in surprise. "Ummm, Temari. Maybe you shouldn't say things like that. Might make him angry."

Temari didn't even acknowledge what Aya said. Aya's soft touch wouldn't work in this case. Sasori needed a good kick in the ass and she was just the kunoichi to give it to him. Temari almost grinned. She was going to enjoy this. She was not finished with Sasori Akasuna. "Oops. I forgotOh, poor Sasori. You're parents were killed by the White Fang and you became a monster to run away from your pain. What a coward."

Sasori's eyes seemed to burn with rage.

The wind mistress grinned now. "Like you're the only person who's suffered." She walked forward until she stood toe to toe with him. "Let me tell you what Gaara has suffered through, Sasori. My brother has been alone all his life. His mother was killed giving him birth and he had the live with the guilt for that. To add to that, the entire village hated and feared him. They treated him like a monster and he became one."

Sasori turned to walk away but Temari wasn't having it. She followed him.

"To add to his problems, the third Kazekage, our father, sent assassins after Gaara. His own father tried to kill him. Can you imagine how that made him feel?" Temari grabbed Sasori's arm and made him face her. Red clashed with turquoise as their eyes met. "Now tell me, Sasori. Do you have anything to complain about? You had your grandparents who loved you. You could have made friends if you wanted. You could have even been one of the best shinobi in the village. Compared to what Gaara has suffered through, your life has been heaven. Now you're going to add to my brother's pain just because your parents were killed when you were a child." Temari sneered. "You really are a coward."

Sasori said nothing. He just glared at her.

Temari smirked. "What is it, Sasori? Cat got your tongue? You suddenly run out of things to complain about?" She released him but didn't back down. "Does it make you proud to know that you're killing people who are already miserable? Do you feel powerful, Sasori, making others more miserable than you?"

His eyes burned with rage now and his careful control gave an audible snap. "No, I don't. Is that what you want to hear? I don't feel proud." He raked frustrated fingers through his hair. "I don't know what I feel anymore. One moment I'm in control and know exactly what I want. The next moment, I'm feel guilt for what I'm doing. Ever since I got my body back, my emotions have been a mess. I'm torn between my emotions and logic now. That's what I wanted to avoid by becoming a puppet. Does that satisfy you, Temari?" he demanded.

The wind mistress smiled. "Yes."

Aya blinked for a moment and then stood. "If it bothers you so much, Sasori, why do it?"

He sighed and sat back down next to the fire. "What else can I do? I'm an S-class criminal."

The artist looked at the fire for a moment. Temari watched Sasori. He seemed to be in misery and it tugged at a corner of Temari's heart that she usually tried to ignore. This time, she couldn't ignore it. She sat next to him and said softly, "You could come home."

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That's it. Don't forget to let me know what you think.


	18. About Time

Hello everyone. Sorry it took me so long. It's taken a long time to get this chapter finished up. I may squeeze out one or two more chapters before I call this story over.

Disclaimer: insert the usual bs here...well i suppose it's not bs since it's true but calling it bs makes me feel better.

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Ch. 18: About Time  
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Everything was silent. Aya held her breath while she waited on Sasori to say something, anything. The silence was driving her crazy. The puppet master just kept staring at Temari like she'd grown a second head. Temari just watched him with calm eyes. Aya racked her brains for something to say to break this silence. Nothing came to mind. She eventually let out a frustrated sigh and glared at Sasori.

"Say something. You're driving me nuts," she snapped out.

Sasori looked at her. "What am I suppose to say? I can't return to Suna. I'm an s-class criminal, remember?"

"We can talk to Gaara. He'll understand and make an exception. Especially if you're key in saving everyone from the trap they're about to walk into," Temari replied. She still seemed perfectly calm.

Aya looked at her friend very closely. "You're being real helpful, Temari."

"I know. This is the best way to save Gaara. I'll do anything to protect my brother." Temari's eyes met Sasori's. "Even make a deal with the devil."

Aya nodded in quick agreement. "Right. Anything to help Gaara."

"I hope he realizes just how lucky he is," Sasori commented as he looked between the two. "I have yet to hear why I should return to Suna."

"Because you want to," Aya replied. "When Temari said come home, you immediately presumed she meant Suna, so you still think of it as home."

Sasori examined her for a moment. He seemed unsure of his next move. His usually calm and calculating eyes held indecision for perhaps the first time in years. The girls waited until he finally closed his eyes. The red sand had come to a decision. Aya held her breath as she waited for him to speak. Finally, he sighed and said, "Alright. Let's go to Suna."

Aya jumped up an cheered, "We're going home. We're going home."

Temari smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Now I can sleep in peace."

"No," Sasori disagreed. "We have to move. The other Akatsuki know we're here, so waiting here is out of the question."

"Good point," the wind mistress agreed.

Aya sighed and dropped a little. "I should have known. No sleeping yet."

"Sorry, Aya."

"No problem," Aya said with a smile. "Let's get going before they find us."

The three of them stood and moved immediately. The physical exertion was starting to catch up to her. 'I'm so tired,' she complained mentally. She looked up at Temari and Sasori. Both of them were walking in front of her and didn't even seem winded. 'I'm such a burden.' Aya sighed again. 'I keep getting into trouble and that risks Gaara's life. Maybe he would have been better off without me.' This was the second time she'd been kidnapped after all. Maybe that was a hint. Gaara would be safer if she kept her distance. They traveled all night and those thoughts plagued Aya the entire time.

In the early hours of morning, just as the sun was coming up, the three of them walked into Suna. The village was still wide awake. There seemed to be concern on everyone's faces as they talked. Aya saw Gaara and almost called out to him. She remembered that she was a liability for him and shut her mouth as she lowered her eyes to her feet. So, it was Temari that called out. Everyone turned and relief filled their faces. Kankuro rushed up to them.

"There you are. We were worried," he said.

Temari explained what happened, but left out the details about Sasori. Aya looked up at Sasori in surprise. At some point, while she'd been absorbed in her thoughts, he'd put on a solid black cloak that hid his face. No one here knew who he was yet. Temari looked at Gaara. "We need to talk to you in private."

Gaara nodded and turned to Baki. "Call in the search teams, Baki."

"Of course, Lord Kazekage."

Aya started to go home but Temari stopped her. "I'll need you to help me, Aya. You're Sasori's best hope of staying here alive."

"Alright." Aya followed them to Gaara's house. She still couldn't shake the depression she'd fallen into. The painter couldn't rid herself of the questions plaguing her mind. Should she distance herself from Gaara? Was he safer without her? Aya looked up at Gaara. He hadn't said anything to her. Maybe he was thinking the same thing she was.

Once they were inside Gaara's home, he led them to the study and turned to Temari. "Now who is that man in the cloak, Temari?"

Temari hesitated and looked at Aya. "Now would be the time to talk, Aya."

Aya opened her mouth but she couldn't get a sound to come out. She looked down again. Gaara looked at Aya now and frowned. He wanted to know who the man was, but this was more important. "What's wrong, Aya?"

She blinked as the tears began to fall. Now why was she crying. Gaara's eyes widened then filled with concern he reached out but Aya stepped away with a shake of her head. "Aya?" She turned and ran for it. What was the matter with her? This wasn't like her at all. She wished she knew what was going on in her head. Just yesterday she was on cloud nine because Gaara actually loved her. Now she was running from him. Had she lost her mind?

Someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. Aya found herself face to face with Gaara. He was glaring at her now. "Aya, will you stop running and tell me what is wrong with you?" he demanded. "This isn't like you."

Aya swallowed. "I don't know." She could feel the tears on her face. "I'm...I think I'm a bother to you. I'm so sorry, Gaara. After all you've been through, I got kidnapped again and almost made things worse." She buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry for being weak and pathetic. I should have been more careful. Everyone keeps telling me I'm you weakness but I still walked into a trap twice."

Gaara pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around him and cried on her shoulder. Gaara whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, Aya. You're not a bother."

She sniffled and stepped back. "Really? Even though I've been kidnapped twice."

He wiped a tear from her cheek. "Really. Aya, you are my greatest weakness but you're also my greatest strength. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be the monster of Suna." He took her face in his hands to make her look at him. "I need you."

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me."

"It's not a problem. Now can we go back to my house and find out who's under that cloak?"

"I already know who it is," she said. Aya fidgeted a little. "It's...um...Sasori Akasuna."

Gaara's eyes narrowed and he nearly growled, "I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say that the man is Sasori?"

Aya nodded and began talking quickly. "Yeah, the Akatsuki used the two tailed cat to bring him back, and it made him into flesh and blood. He and some other are the ones that kidnapped me...again." Whens he saw Gaara's eyes narrow she waved her hands. "He didn't hurt me or Temari. In fact, he risked his life to bring us back to Suna." Well, it was true. The akatsuki's would kill Sasori when they discovered what he did. "Because of that, me and Temari were hoping that Sasori could be," she began speaking each syllable slowly and quietly, "allowed to return."

"What?" he growled. "You do realize you're talking about an s-class criminal that tried to kill me."

"Yes, but he has information that could be useful. He's willing to tell you everything he knows about the Akatsuki." Aya fidgeted a little. "Can't he be given a pardon, Lord Kazekage? He did risk his neck to bring us back home and everyone deserves a second chance."

Gaara closed his eyes in resignation. He couldn't tell her no, especially after she'd been crying because she thought she was a bother to him. Damn Temari. His calculating sister planned this She knew he couldn't say no to Aya. "Let me hear what he has to say, then I'll decide."

"Alright, Gaara."

They returned to Gaara's home. Sasori was still wearing the cloak and Temari was standing between him and Kankuro. They all turned to face Gaara and Aya when they walked into the study. Aya smiled and waved. Gaara's eyes landed on Sasori.

"Take that cloak off, Sasori," he ordered. "I want to see your face as we talk."

Sasori complied with the request. He and Gaara just examined each other for a moment. As if they were waiting to see what would happen next. Gaara broke the silence first. "Tell me what you know that Temari believes earns you a second chance."

"You and the others are walking into a trap," Sasori stated. He grinned when he saw that statement had gotten Gaara's undivided attention. "The place you believe is our hideout is actually a decoy. The Akatsuki intends to ambush you and the fox host."

Gaara's eyes narrowed then he turned to Kankuro. "Gather messengers immediately. Send them to all the villages and tell them what we've discovered. Be sure that they know to keep this knowledge to themselves. We don't want the Akatsuki to know we are aware of the trap." Gaara became somewhat thoughtful. "We might be able to use this against them."

Temari nodded. "We just have to spring their trap with an ambush of our own. Let them think they got us and then, when they come out to kill us all, surprise them."

Sasori gave Temari and admiring look. "You are quite the tactician."

She grinned. "The best."

"Tell Konoha to send a representative. I think they'll want to hear what Sasori has to say about the Akatsuki," Gaara said to Kankuro. He turned his attention back to Sasori. "You'll stay with Temari since this was her idea. I'll grant the pardon. As soon as the Konoha shinobi arrive, you'll tell us everything you know about the Akatsuki."

Sasori nodded in agreement. "So be it."

"You better not be lying to us, Sasori," Kankuro said with an obvious threat. "Temari is taking a major risk. If you betray us, she'll be held responsible for vouching for you."

Sasori looked at Temari in surprise. He hadn't known that. Not that it mattered. He wouldn't be throwing away this second chance at life. Being human again had changed his perspective on life. He'd forgotten how much a human needed other humans. How much he needed others. He turned back to Kankuro. "Don't worry. I'm not betraying anyone but the Akatsuki."

"Come on, Sasori," Temari ordered. "I have a guest room that you can use."

He nodded and followed her out.

Gaara turned to Aya. "Are you sure about him?"

Aya nodded. "You should have seen his reaction when Temari suggested he come home. That's a man who's changed his priorities and desires. He's not the same Sasori he was before his death."

Gaara decided he had no choice but to trust her. Kankuro silently left to leave Gaara and Aya alone. The two obviously needed to talk. Hopefully, Gaara would talk and not just take Aya straight home. Hopefully, Gaara wouldn't take her home at all. It was long past time for Gaara to just tell her how he felt. At least, that's what Kankuro thought. He was pretty sure everyone else agreed with him.

Aya smiled at Gaara and wished he would tell her how he felt already. She wanted to move past the friendship and get on with their lives. But she knew better than to rush things. Gaara wasn't as used to love as she was. He didn't accept it or recognize it as easily as she did. So she would wait until he was ready. She just hoped he didn't take too much longer.

"Come on. I'll take you home." Gaara turned and made his way towards the door. "Your family has been worried about you."

Despite knowing she shouldn't rush things. Aya couldn't help saying, "Gaara, you know I love you, right?"

He stopped and turned to face her. Then he just looked at her. She was beautiful. At least to him she was. Considering the way heads turned when she walked by, he wasn't alone in his opinion. Her dark hair fell down her back in thick waves with bangs that fell just above those stunning blue-green eyes. Eyes that were watching him with love and innocence. It still stunned him how easily she accepted him. Without thinking about it, he stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms. Aya snuggled into him with a smile.

Then it hit him. She loved him. Really loved him. How could she? He didn't have a single lovable trait, and yet she loved him. They weren't just words she said. Aya meant them. What was he supposed to do about it? Tell her how he felt? He wasn't sure he should until the Akatsuki was taken care of. Then again, what if he never got them? Or worse, what if they killed him? Did he really want to die without telling her how he felt? Would it make any difference to tell her now? She was still his weakness whether she knew or not. The Akatsuki obviously already know this. That's why they took her not once but twice. So who was he helping by keeping his feelings to himself?

"I know," he whispered. After a moment of hesitation, he added, "I don't want to take you home. I want you to stay."

"Okay," she agreed easily.

He pulled back so he could see her face. Gaara wanted to be sure she understood where this was going. She looked perfectly happy as usual but there was something new in that smile. A smug smile as if she'd just won some battle. Her eyes had a knowing look in them. Aya knew exactly what was happening and didn't mind one bit. Gaara smirked and led the way upstairs.

Aya walked into her clan's compound the next morning on cloud nine. Her mother smiled when she saw the smile. Ruka Hayashi knew that smile very well. She'd had that same look on her face for weeks after her husband finally admitted he loved her. Looks like she won the bet. And everyone else thought it would take him until Aya was eighteen. She knew better. There was no way Aya would wait until she was eighteen.

"Well, someone's happy," Ruka commented absently.

"Huh?" Aya was brought back to earth suddenly. She smiled. "Hi, Mom. Beautiful day isn't it?"

Aya practically skipped her way inside. Ruka smiled. Yup, she'd won the bet. Perfect. That would mean her daughter was happy now. Ruka hummed a happy little tune and made her way inside to collect her winnings. All she could say was, it's about time.

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That's it for now. I'll go work on the next chapter. Let me know what you think so far. May also want to visit profile to look at the stories I'm thinking about working on next. If you have a preference just let me know and I'll probably use that one. Or if anyone has a plot idea feel free to share. Until next time.


	19. Alliances and Battles

Here's another chapter. I must be on a roll. Anyways, the final battle is in this one so let me remind everyone. I stink at fight scenes. I muddled my way through it but it's not terrific. Sorry. Please enjoy the chapter anyway.

Disclaimer: See all other chapters because I will not say...errr write it again.

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**Ch. 19: Alliances and Battles**

For the next several weeks, Gaara was busy in meeting. Temari, Sasori, and all the Kages were currently discussing a plan of action to finally rid themselves of the Akatsuki. They learned a lot about their enemy with the help of Sasori. The ex-Akatsuki member turned good guy shared all the information he had about the Akatsuki. After he'd given them all the information he had, they began to plan.

Gaara sat back and looked out the window. His mind was not on the information or plans. He was the first to admit that. The plan was finished really. Tomorrow, they would ambush the Akatsuki using their own trap. These meetings were just to make sure they covered every possible angle so nothing went wrong. They'd even made sure that only the Kage's and Suna was aware that Sasori was in the sand village. The Akatsuki wasn't to discover that they'd been betrayed.

He sighed. Gaara just wanted this meeting to be over with. He wanted to go find Aya. With all the meetings he hadn't gotten to spend as much time with her as he would have liked. She spent a great deal of time on what she was calling one of her best paintings ever. Aya was being very secretive about this painting. She hadn't even let him see them. All he knew was that she sat in for the first few meetings, and she had sketched the entire time. Then she'd disappeared into her room and only came out when Gaara wasn't busy. He'd admit, he was mildly curious about this painting.

"Kazekage, are you with us?" the Raikage demanded.

Gaara looked at him. "Yes."

"Good. It looked like you were daydreaming." Raikage looked around. "So the plan is very simple and we've gone over every possible angle. Tomorrow we and our shinobi leave to begin the attack. We should all be in place in a weeks time."

There was a round of nods.

"I suggest we continue to keep Sasori our little secret," Gaara stated. "The less people who know, the less likely our enemy is to overhear."

Another round of nods.

"We should stay with our loved ones tonight. No telling if we'll return alive," Tsunade said with a meaningful look at Gaara. The Kazekage's relationship with Aya was common knowledge and everyone was secretly amused that of all the powerful shinobi in the world, it was a civilian that tamed Sabaku no Gaara.

Again, more agreements.

"Then let's say this meeting is ajurned and relax until tomorrow," Gaara said as he stood. He really wanted to go find Aya.

He looked at the door and felt the smile form on his face. Aya stood there with Kankuro and Hana. The painter smiled at him then address all the Kages. "My lords, I have a gift for everyone. May I show it to you?"

Tsunade smiled. "Who doesn't like gifts. Please, Aya, bring it out."

Aya gestured to Kankuro and Hana. Gaara's brother and her friend were carrying a painting with a white cloth covering it. With a flourish, Hana pulled the cloth off. Gaara smiled. All the Kage's found themselves staring at Aya's creation. Sasori found himself in awe of her talent. Temari smiled. Aya had been right. This was one of her best paintings.

This painting had each Kage, Sasori, and Temari sitting in this very room. Anyone looking could tell they were in the middle of a serious debate. Gaara sat in the center of the u-shaped table with two Kages on either side of him. To his right was the Raikage, the Mizukage, and Sasori. Tsunade, the Tsuchikage, and Temari sat to his left. The Raikage was speaking as the others watched him, and the expressions told the observers they were in agreement with him. There was an air of determination and hope around the painting. Almost as if the people sitting at this table were deciding the fate of the world and were going to make the future better for everyone.

"I call it _Alliances_," Aya told them with a proud smile. "What do you think?"

It was Sasori who finally broke the silence. "You are very talented."

Aya beamed at him. "I've been working on it since these meeting began. I wanted it to be perfect."

"Don't you want them all to be perfect?" the Raikage asked her.

She shook her head. "No. Only the important ones. I've made maybe seven paintings that I've spent this much time and effort on. One I gave to my parents as an anniversary gift. Another is hanging in Hana's room. Two are in my room. Gaara has the fifth and Sasuke the sixth. The last one is this."

"Why?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Because this seemed like an important moment in our history. We're all working together. Nations that were once enemies are now allies," Aya explained. "It just needed to be captured so that everyone could see what we've accomplished."

The Kages all smiled. Tsunade spoke for them all when she said, "It's the best painting I've ever seen. I think we all want a copy for our villages."

Aya grinned. "Already taken care of. Part of why it took so long, was so I could make more than one."

"The others are at the Hayashi compound," Kankuro added. "The Kages will be allowed to take them home with them."

Tsunade looked at the painting. "_Alliances_, huh. Well, it seems to come at just the right time."

"Let's see if we can keep the idea of this painting alive," the Mizukage stated as he stood. "Even after the Akatsuki has been dealt with."

There was universal agreement. The Kage's filed out to gather their copy of the painting and go home. Gaara told Kankuro to hang the painting up in the meeting room. "After that, tell our shinobi that we'll be leaving in the morning."

Kankuro nodded. "I'll see to it."

"I'll help Kankuro," Hana said almost shyly.

Gaara's brother grinned at her. "Thanks."

She blushed and gave him a smile.

Temari looked at Sasori out the corner of her eye. She'd gotten attached to the Red Sand and had every intention of making sure the attachment was mutual. He must have sensed her stare because he looked at her. Neither spoke but there was an unspoken agreement. They walked out of the room together and headed towards Temari's house.

Gaara looked dawn at Aya. "Let's go home."

Aya nodded and followed him to his house. She'd practically moved in with him. The kitchen saw more use because she actually knew how to cook. Some of her smaller painting found their way onto his walls along with the photos Kankuro had given her for her birthday. Her clothes were in his closet and in his dresser. He'd even provided her with a room to paint and sketch. When Kankuro found out about this, Kankuro had called Gaara whipped. Normally, Gaara would have made sure Kankuro never said that again, but he hadn't. Gaara had been more interested in the fact that he didn't mind being whipped than in punishing Kankuro for pointing it out.

"So what do you want to do with the rest of your day?" Aya asked as she made her way into the kitchen. She was hungry. It was almost time for dinner and she hadn't eaten all day. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she leaned into Gaara with a smile. He only touched her when they were alone. Unless she hugged him or took his hand first.

"Just stay with you," he said, finally answering her question.

Aya felt her heart do a slow flip in her chest. "Alright, Gaara. Let me make us something to eat."

Gaara nodded and released her. He wasn't interested in dinner but knew she wouldn't have eaten yet. Aya always forgot to eat when she was working on a painting. He sat and watched as she moved about the kitchen. Sometimes he still expected to wake up and find out he'd been dreaming. That Aya wasn't really his friend, his lover. That she'd been a figment of his imagination. Maybe he was dreaming. If so, he never wanted to wake up. Maybe one day he'd believe that this wasn't a dream. Until then, he'd enjoy the dream. After dinner, he took her up to his room – well really it was their room now – though neither of them got much sleep. Gaara saw to that.

Early the next morning, nearly all of Suna was gathered outside the village to say good bye to their shinobi. Alexa's father and many of her other relatives were among those leaving for the battle against the Akatsuki. She hugged them all tightly and ordered them to come home safe. Then she turned her attention to the Sand Siblings and Sasori. She hugged Temari, Kankuro, and Sasori while giving them the same order she'd given her family. When she turned to Gaara, she just stood there for about two seconds then threw herself into his arms.

"Be careful, Gaara," she ordered him. "I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you."

"I'll be fine, Aya." He held her close. Now was not the time to avoid contact with her just because they were in public. After all, there was a chance her wouldn't come back, despite what he was telling her right now. "We'll be home before you know it."

She pulled back and took his face in her hands. Aya didn't want to let go. She wanted to make him stay so that she'd knew he'd be safe.

"I want you to stay with your mother while I'm gone," he told her.

Aya nodded in agreement. "She already told me to stay at the Hayashi compound with them. I'm not sure which of us will need the support more. Dad's going with you."

"We'll be fine." He stepped back, forcing her to let go. "I promise." Gaara turned to the sand shinobi. "Let's move out."

Within seconds, all the shinobi were gone. Civilians and retired shinobi remained. None wanted to leave and let this day end because then it was one day closer to the battle. Some of those that had just left, wouldn't return alive. Despite how the battle with the Akatsuki ended, someone would loose a loved one. Everyone could only hope it wouldn't be them. Slowly, groups began making their way back into the village. Aya returned to her clan's compound and prayed to any god listening that Gaara and her friends would be alright.

Gaara and his shinobi ran with all the speed they had straight to the Amegakure. According to Sasori, this was the Akatsuki's base of operations. This was also where the Konoha shinobi had discovered the Akatsuki. A trap to ambush and take Naruto and Gaara. Now they would create a trap of their own. The next morning. Gaara and Naruto led a small portion of their shinobi into Amegakure. Among them were Gaara's siblings, Baki, Aya's family, Rookie 9, and Team Guy. Everyone stayed ready for a fight. They didn't wait long. The Akatsuki seemed to come from nowhere and surrounded the shinobi.

"Well, look what we have here," one of them said. Sasori had told them about the man in charge of the Akatsuki. An Uchiha everyone had believed dead. Madara didn't look very different from the last time he'd been seen. He had the traditional Uchiha looks. Dark hair, lanky build, and red sharingan eyes. Madara gave them an almost pleasant smile. "Thank you so much for hand delivering the Jinchuriki to us. You've saves us so much time and trouble."

Gaara grinned as he finished counting the Akatsuki surrounding his team. All of the members were here. Luck was with them after all. Gaara looked at Naruto and nodded.

With his trademark grin, Naruto faced Madara. "You're right. We have saved you time. I can't say the same for trouble though. We came with plenty of that."

Sasuke smirked and raised his fingers to his lips. When he blew threw them, fire erupted into the air. All the shinobi from all the hidden villages came out of hiding and wasted no time in attacking. Sasuke raced to Itachi. That fight was his and his alone. Itachi smirked when Sasuke faced him. The two brothers took fighting stances and, after five tense seconds, attacked.

Narut and Gaaara stood together facing Madara. He was their battle. Madara made the first move. His hands moved so fast neither Gaara nor Naruto saw what he did. The next thing they knew, flames were chasing them around. They dodged and racked towards their enemy with weapons and jutsus ready.

The sounds of battle were everywhere and metal struck metal or flesh. There were cries of pain and grins of triumph. The smell of blood and sweat filled the air. Jutsus were being used to cheat death or to bring it to the enemy. Some died for their efforts. Some were injured too badly to fight. Some got back up and continued fighting because there was no other choice. All tried not to think about those who would not be returning home.

It seemed liked hours passed. Gaara and Naruto still struggled with Madara. He was the head of the Akatsuki. In theory, cut off the head and the body dies. Madara had to die or this would just repeat itself.

There was an explosion some where behind them. Naruto instinctively looked over to make sure it wasn't a friend. He let out breath of relief. Sasuke had just used a jutsu and sword to force Itachi back. The older Uchiha was mortally wounded now. Sasuke had gotten his revenge. For a moment, Sasuke closed his eyes and felt something in him loosen at last. It was over. He and his family would be safe from Itachi. At long last, he could revive his clan.

"Didn't your sensei teach you not to look away from your opponent," Madara demanded as he moved after Naruto.

Gaara raised a wall of sand to shield Naruto from the attack. The Kazekage wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. He was getting tired, making more and more difficult to control the sand. He scanned the area. His side was winning. Of course, they had the advantage of numbers. Already, Itachi and two other Akatsuki members were down. Deidara had been killed last year in the first attempt to capture Gaara. Sasori had changed sides. That left only five members left for the Akatsuki. They couldn't win. Still, Gaara wanted to make it home alive.

He lowered the shield and faced Madara again. He noted that others had joined him and Naruto. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were on the other side of Madara in a fighting stance. Madara saw them too. He merely smirked and activated another jutsu. He began transporting himself around and attacking. Gaara just barely dodged a kunai when Madara appeared behind him. The Kazekage knew he couldn't keep fighting like this. He needed more chakra. More power. Just more of everything. But where in the world...His thoughts trailed off when he saw Naruto's eyes turn red temporarily before going blue again. The blond was using the nine-tailed fox, which gave Gaara and idea. He hesitated a moment then tapped into his mind.

'Shukaku,' he called out mentally.

"_What do you want boy?"_ the beast demanded.

'You're help.'

Shukaku seemed intrigued. _"You never want my help. What's changed?"_

'Aya. You want to keep her safe too. It's not just my feelings in here. You're part of me.' Gaara smirked. 'Besides, you'll get a chance to kill. Maybe not your body but with your power.'

The one-tailed beast shifted a little then nodded. _"So be it."_

Gaara felt the chakra flood his system along with the jutsus Shukaku could use. This fight had only just begun. The two Jinchuriki began their attack using their beasts' power. Madara was actually having to dodge now. The Akatsuki leader was enraged. How could all of his fighters be defeated so easily? How could this group of brats destroy his plans? He would make them pay. It would kill him but they would pay.

Madara jumped into the air. Gaara and Naruto jumped after him. They weren't about to let him escape. Madara's hands moved at lighting speed as he prepared for a move he'd saved as a last resort. It could kill him but his well laid plans were already destroyed. At least he could take these two Jinchuriki – the ones that had ruined his plans – with him. There seemed to be a bright light forming around him. Everyone was forced to shield their eyes. Then there was an explosion that enveloped the three air born fighters.

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That's it for this one and yes I left you in a cliff hanger. We'll see how things turn out in the next chapter, which will be the last one by the way. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this chapter. Until next time.


	20. The End

Here it is. The last chapter. I'm kinda sad. I'll miss this story and Aya. Oh well, all good things must end eventually.

The final Disclaimer: Oh, come on. It's bad enough that I have to say good-bye to this story now you want me to put in a disclaimer! *band of lawyers nod without sympathy* Fine. I don't own Naruto. Happy now. *Lawyers nod again with smiles* At least someone is.

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Ch. 20: The End**

They were back. Both the Konoha shinobi and the sand shinobi had come back to Suna. Aya rushed to greet them and reassure herself that everyone was alright. She spotted her father first. Both she and her mother hugged him tightly. Aya could here her mother thanking the gods that he'd returned safely. The two stepped back and smiled at him. He winced a little and shifted.

"Kaito, you're hurt," her mother said as concern filled her eyes. "What happened to your leg?"

"A lucky shot by the enemy." Kaito smiled. "Don't worry, Ruka. I'm fine. In a few days, it'll be like I was never injured."

"Aya."

She turned and saw Kankuro, Temari, and Sasori. Aya smiled and waved at them. They were okay. Then she noticed that someone was missing. Fear dug its sharp claws into her heart. She gripped Kankuro's shirt in her fists. "Where is he, Kankuro? What happened to Gaara?"

"Aya, cool down." Kankuro held up his hands as if that would hold her off. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down," she shouted as she shook him. Tears fell from her eyes. "Tell me where Gaara is."

She noticed a brunch of people laying on the ground towards the back of the crowd. Aya ran towards the dead. Her eyes scanning the faces among the injured and dead. Then she saw a head of red hair. Her heart stopped. Gaara. Aya ran over and fell to her knees next to him. Don't be dead, she begged silently. She was afraid to touch him. Afraid to find he wasn't breathing. Afraid to find his heart wasn't beating. Slowly she reached out and placed her hand over his heart. Her breath left her lungs in a whoosh as she felt a reassuring thump against her palm. More tears fell as relief filled her system.

"He's lucky to be alive. Lucky Shukaku saved him and Naruto," Sasori said. He'd walked over with Temari and Kankuro.

Temari told Aya about the battle with Madara. As a last resort, Madara had used some kind of jutsu that caused an explosion that engulfed Naruto and Gaara. Luckily, Gaara's sand shield came up in time to shield them from the worst of the explosion. Both of them were tapped out of chakra and had fallen to the ground. Neither had woken up since.

Aya looked around and saw Rookie 9 gathered around someone. She knew that would be Naruto. "Will they be alright?"

"Lady Tsunade and Sakura said they would be given time. As long as they wake up," Temari replied. "That's the only thing that worries everyone. Will they wake up?"

"Did we win?"

Temari nodded. "No one in the Akatsuki survived. Every village lost many shinobi in the process but we won."

Aya touched Gaara's forhead. The symbol for love tattooed in blood was still a bright red. She knew that spot of his skin was more sensitive to touch than any other spot on his body. She traced it now. Someone cried out in happiness. Aya looked over to see Naruto had sat up and Hinata had thrown her arms around him. There was relief on all the faces of Konoha. She was happy for them. She really was. It was just that...

Something grabbed the hand tracing Gaara's symbol. Aya squeaked and nearly jumped out of her skin. Her eyes jerked down and tears flooded again. Sea foam eyes were open and looked up at her. Aya began to shake. Gaara forced himself to sit up and touch her face. He wiped away a tear.

"Stop," he ordered in a croak. Gaara frowned. His throat was soar. Just how long had he been out?

Aya threw her arms around him and just cried. She couldn't stop as much as she would love to obey him. Gaara winced at the pain as she bumped some bruises, but like Naruto when Hinata hugged him, said nothing about the pain. She pulled away and wiped the tears from her face.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered. "I was so scared when I saw you just lying here."

Gaara rested his forehead against hers and just rested there for a moment. He saw a hand holding a glass of water come into his field of vision. The Kazekage looked up to see Sassori offering him the glass. Gaara took it and drained the glass without taking a breath. He was so thirsty. Aya stood and pulled him to his feet. Gaara nearly fell back down. Then Kankuro was there. He supported Gaara and helped him over to Naruto. The two Jinchuriki looked at each other for a moment. Naruto gave Gaara his goofy grin and held out a hand.

"We showed them."

Gaara grinned and took the hand. "We did."

Sasuke tapped Naruto's shoulder. "I want you to see this."

Naruto turned as Sasuke gave Sakura his attention. After hesitating for barely a second, Sasuke said, "Sakura, I had two goals in life. One was to avenge my clan. The other was to revive it. I've accomplished on goal. That leaves one more." Sasuke hesitated again. This wasn't easy for him. He was about to make a public confession but Sakura deserved it after all he'd put her through. He just hoped she accepted it. "I'll need help reviving my clan and I...Hell. I want you to marry me."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. She could only stare at him. This had to be a dream. It had to be. Sasuke would never ask her to marry him. Yet, everyone else was grinning and Sasuke was watching her with expectant eyes. Finally, she took a step forward and placed a hand on his cheek. "This is real."

He nodded.

She smiled brilliantly at him and threw herself into his arm as she shouted, "Yes."

Sasuke let out a relieved breath. "Good. That's good." He looked at Naruto. "I expect my best friend to be my best man."

Naruto gave that goofy grin. "As long as you return the favor for my wedding."

"Naturally," Sasuke agreed.

Kakashi smiled. He'd never been prouder of his team. He looked to see Gaara whispering something to Aya. The civilian who'd tamed Sabaku no Gaara looked shocked then ecstatic. She threw her arms around Gaara again, nearly knocking the Kazekage over. Looks like they were having yet another wedding in the immediate future. Kakashi scanned the area around him and saw many people grouping together. Nothing like a major battle to bring people out of denial. Finally, everything was as it should be.

_-Ten years later-_

"Momma, can we go play at Uncle Sasori's?" Kai asked his mother. He had his father's sea foam eyes and his mother's dark hair. Like his father, he was controlled and reserved. His closest friend was his cousin, Haruto. Which was why he was trying to convince his mother to let him go over to Sasori's and Temari's.

"Arlight. Just be back in time for dinner," Aya ordered him with an indulgent smile.

"I will." He raced off.

"Mom, we're out of red." This came from Aya's youngest, Ryu. He was her spitting image and had her talent for art. He also had a tendency to get lost. Unlike her, he was trained in the shinobi arts. Not as skilled as his older brothers, Kai and Akira, but still the best in his class.

"No we're not. There's more in my room," she told him as she added some spicing to the soup. "Go ahead and get it."

"Okay." Ryu rushed upstairs to do just that.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. Aya smiled and turned to greet her husband. "I thought you'd be in Konoha another day."

"The hokage let me leave early. You are close to giving birth again." Gaara grinned. Only at home was he this open. Their middle son, Akira, was jut like him right down to the looks and attitude. "Naruto said to thank you for the painting."

Aya had painted Naruto's family, including Team 7, for a congratulations gift. He'd just been made Hokage of his village. It had just seemed right to give him a painting for the event. "He earned it." She stepped back and placed a hand over her belly. "As for the kid, I just hope it's a girl this time. I'm out numbered here."

"You love us though."

She sighed. "I suppose. Where's Akira?"

"He went to visit your father."

Akira was training to be a medical nin with her father's help.

Aya smiled. "Ryu's working on a new painting."

"Really. What's this one?"

"He calls it _Happy At Last_. He's put our entire family in it, even the honorary family. Rookie 9, Team Guy, my clan, your siblings and their families, us, everyone." She wrapped sat in a chair. "He says the name is cause we all found our happy ever after."

"You've been reading him fairy tales again," Gaara accused, though he was still smiling.

"No. I merely told him our story. He wanted to hear it." Aya smiled. "All three boys did."

Gaara took her hand in his. She was right. Their story did seem like a fairy tale to him. Maybe because the Monster of Suna found a happy ending when even he didn't think he could. Now the next generation was growing in a time of peace among all the nations. It may not last. Peace never did. But still, for now, they could enjoy their happy endings.

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I know, it was short, but there wasn't much else to write. The story was pretty much over. Anyways. Ending is sappy but I happen to like being sappy occasionally. Hope you enjoyed Painted Dreams. Tomorrow I'll begin my next fanfic. Whichever one that may be. Speaking of which. This would be the time to take a look at my profile to see which story you might want to read next. They'll be in the maybe stories section. If you have no preference, that's okay. I'll just pick one.

I might actually have an idea for another Gaara fic. Maybe. I'm not sure. Here's a rough summary. I'll call it Lost Memories. Gaara finds a girl who has no memory of who she is or where she's come from. For some reason (haven't worked that reason out yet or if he even know it himself) he takes her in... That's all I've got for it so far. Like I said, it's still a little rough around the edges. I'll post the summary on my profile and any updates to it when I've worked out the kinks. I hope it works out cause I happen to love writing Gaara fics. I was going to be sad if I didn't come up with another one.


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